COVID-19 Impact and Market Overview
As of March 31, 2020, no lockdown had been enforced in Singapore despite the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore would not isolate from the rest of the world but would implement temporary control measures. By the end of March, the country had recorded 926 confirmed cases, with numbers steadily rising to 2,532 by April 12. In response, Singapore introduced stringent preventive measures under the term ‘circuit breaker’ starting April 7, to be in effect until May 4.
New car sales in Singapore in March 2020 fell sharply by -30.9% year-on-year to 5,001 units. This drop is expected to deepen in April due to the circuit breaker measures. For Q1 2020, total sales reached 14,699 units, marking a -28.3% decline compared to the same period in 2019.
Brand Performance Highlights
- Honda (-42.7%) reclaimed the top spot among car brands from Toyota (-28.7%) for the first time since September 2019. Despite this, Toyota (-26.4%) maintained its year-to-date (YTD) lead over Honda (-43.2%).
- Mercedes (-2.8%) and Mazda (-6.5%) retained their February rankings at #3 and #4, respectively.
- Audi (+4.5%) was the only brand in the Top 10 to achieve a year-on-year gain.
- In contrast, Hyundai (-58.7%), Nissan (-54.3%), Mitsubishi (-54.1%), and Kia (-46.7%) experienced steeper declines than the overall market.
Notable Performers
Beyond the Top 10, several brands recorded impressive growth:
- Ssangyong (+1800%): Achieved a 19-fold year-on-year increase.
- Peugeot (+700%), Jeep (+500%), Seat (+68.2%), Suzuki (+64.3%): Showed significant gains.
- Luxury brands also performed well, with Rolls Royce (+50%), Land Rover (+30%), Bentley (+25%), and Maserati (+16.7%) seeing positive growth.
- Volkswagen (+6.8%) also stood out with a modest but notable increase.
Historical Context
- Previous Month: In February 2020, Mazda (+48.7%) and Mercedes (+26.7%) defied the market downturn of -6.8%.
- One Year Ago: In March 2019, Honda (+54.7%) led the market, which experienced a 3.4% growth.
