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Best Selling Cars of 2020


therock
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We had so much fun talking about this last year, with supporters and haters of various brands coming out of the woodwork..

Should we fear starting a topic on this? Nah...

Like Nike, Just Do It 😉

 

So which cars will feature in the top ten?

How about the brands? Which ones will be top again?

 

 

IMO, the top brands won't change much: Toyota, Honda, Merc and Hyundai will be there. Who else will be interesting to watch, as the fortunes of the various brands have changed a lot over the last year.

Nissan would have been there a few years back when they had the QQ, the darling of the local market five years ago, but no longer so. The Subaru Forrester used to sell very well, but let's see if the current version can do the same too.

Come come, send in your predictions, but this is no EDMW, so let's keep it civil 🙂 

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Altis will definitely be one of the best selling cars of 2020 for sure being an all new model. The other possibility could be Mazda 3. Honda if they price their new Jazz correctly could also see good sales.

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2 hours ago, Spring said:

Altis will definitely be one of the best selling cars of 2020 for sure being an all new model. The other possibility could be Mazda 3. Honda if they price their new Jazz correctly could also see good sales.

Will need to see the pricing of the Altis and Mazda 3 in 2020. 

About 80 of the new 2020 Altis are already out and about on the roads. Give a couple of months for the feedback to come in on the new 2020 Altis before declaring a definite winner.

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IMO, the Mazda 3 sold well in it's previous iteration because it was cheap and well built.

Now it's even better in build quality, but the price has gone up. 

The Hyundai Elantra is now the price leader for the budget segment, and will probably overtake the Mazda 3 by a fair bit.

SG buyers are very price sensitive. They are very brand sensitive and you will see buyers jumping ship to conti brands if the Asian cars get too expensive. 

If the entry level A3 is priced right, Audi will feature in the top ten because it attracts buyers to the brand, even if it's a no frills car. Then they will look upwards to the A4, which is clearing stock and will also sell well since it's priced significantly below the BMW / Merc competitors.

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15 minutes ago, therock said:

IMO, the Mazda 3 sold well in it's previous iteration because it was cheap and well built.

Now it's even better in build quality, but the price has gone up. 

The Hyundai Elantra is now the price leader for the budget segment, and will probably overtake the Mazda 3 by a fair bit.

SG buyers are very price sensitive. They are very brand sensitive and you will see buyers jumping ship to conti brands if the Asian cars get too expensive. 

If the entry level A3 is priced right, Audi will feature in the top ten because it attracts buyers to the brand, even if it's a no frills car. Then they will look upwards to the A4, which is clearing stock and will also sell well since it's priced significantly below the BMW / Merc competitors.

Agree that Elantra is the price leader now. The sedan sales for 2019 were dominated by the Koreans.

From my understanding, Altis will be launched with similar pricing at the Mazda 3, top varient will be over $100k. 

Last I checked, Audi A4 was $140+k and Audi A3 was $120+k. Honestly, those looking at that price category will either go for a Japanese Executive Sedan or top up a bit for the other German small sedans. 

 

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Those Asian executive cars aren’t in the picture..

apart from the Mazda 6, most of the rest are priced too high. Buyers will gravitate to the Congo options esp the German offerings if they want a sedan ..

or Czech too ..

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23 minutes ago, therock said:

Those Asian executive cars aren’t in the picture..

apart from the Mazda 6, most of the rest are priced too high. Buyers will gravitate to the Congo options esp the German offerings if they want a sedan ..

or Czech too ..

Agreed that Mazda 6 will be a good choice for a Japanese Executive sedan.

And of course the Skoda Octavia for those looking at a Conti small sedan once it is launched here. 

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1 hour ago, therock said:

IMO, the Mazda 3 sold well in it's previous iteration because it was cheap and well built.

Now it's even better in build quality, but the price has gone up. 

The Hyundai Elantra is now the price leader for the budget segment, and will probably overtake the Mazda 3 by a fair bit.

SG buyers are very price sensitive. They are very brand sensitive and you will see buyers jumping ship to conti brands if the Asian cars get too expensive. 

If the entry level A3 is priced right, Audi will feature in the top ten because it attracts buyers to the brand, even if it's a no frills car. Then they will look upwards to the A4, which is clearing stock and will also sell well since it's priced significantly below the BMW / Merc competitors.

Elantra is now not that competitively priced anymore. The S model is mid $80k and with OMV of approx $15k. It used to be well below $80k for S model.

Mazda 3 is facing pressure from the newly launched Altis and they have cut their prices but u have to arm twist the SE who will accept if its reasonable. List price is still high though.

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2 hours ago, therock said:

Those Asian executive cars aren’t in the picture..

apart from the Mazda 6, most of the rest are priced too high. Buyers will gravitate to the Congo options esp the German offerings if they want a sedan ..

or Czech too ..

there arent other asian executive cars in SG anyway apart from Mazda 6 which is the market leader as there is no direct competitor to it if we are looking at a jap/korean luxury sedan, lets not factor in entry level conti, etc. Honda accord is way overpriced too, no luxury sedan offerings from the kimchi too in the recent years apart from sonata/optima which didn't really sell well due to the high coe period. 

kimchi in sg gave up and went for the kill with b&b sedans like cerato/elantra which are selling like hot cakes due to the attractive pricing, suvs are doing well too. 

 

Edited by ferrytales
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4 hours ago, therock said:

IMO, the Mazda 3 sold well in it's previous iteration because it was cheap and well built.

Now it's even better in build quality, but the price has gone up. 

The Hyundai Elantra is now the price leader for the budget segment, and will probably overtake the Mazda 3 by a fair bit.

SG buyers are very price sensitive. They are very brand sensitive and you will see buyers jumping ship to conti brands if the Asian cars get too expensive. 

If the entry level A3 is priced right, Audi will feature in the top ten because it attracts buyers to the brand, even if it's a no frills car. Then they will look upwards to the A4, which is clearing stock and will also sell well since it's priced significantly below the BMW / Merc competitors.

Bit of a contraction to say SG buyers price sensitive, yet are perfectly fine to jump ship to conti brands, which are priced with significant margins in SG.

But I would agree. Generally speaking the average SG buyers will value badge power over the car itself. It wouldn't surprise me if an average SG car buyer wants a family sedan, but goes for an A3 sedan over say a higher end Mazda 6, just it's got a premium brand behind it.  That is despite the A3 likely not fulfilling their needs as a full size family sedan, or the mazda6 being (in my eyes), the better car. 

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2 hours ago, ferrytales said:

there arent other asian executive cars in SG anyway apart from Mazda 6 which is the market leader as there is no direct competitor to it if we are looking at a jap/korean luxury sedan, lets not factor in entry level conti, etc. Honda accord is way overpriced too, no luxury sedan offerings from the kimchi too in the recent years apart from sonata/optima which didn't really sell well due to the high coe period. 

kimchi in sg gave up and went for the kill with b&b sedans like cerato/elantra which are selling like hot cakes due to the attractive pricing, suvs are doing well too. 

 

I will take sonata over mazda 6 anytime

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2 hours ago, ferrytales said:

there arent other asian executive cars in SG anyway apart from Mazda 6 which is the market leader as there is no direct competitor to it if we are looking at a jap/korean luxury sedan, lets not factor in entry level conti, etc. Honda accord is way overpriced too, no luxury sedan offerings from the kimchi too in the recent years apart from sonata/optima which didn't really sell well due to the high coe period. 

kimchi in sg gave up and went for the kill with b&b sedans like cerato/elantra which are selling like hot cakes due to the attractive pricing, suvs are doing well too. 

 

Does the Stinger count as a executive sedan? I know its more a sports car, and actually a hatchback.  But I easily choose a Stinger over a mazda6. It's just a better car for the money and that's the GT Line vs the 2.5L Mazda6. 

It baffles me to think the Stinger isn't popular despite a declining sedan market. 

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1 hour ago, GTO-1 said:

Bit of a contraction to say SG buyers price sensitive, yet are perfectly fine to jump ship to conti brands, which are priced with significant margins in SG.

But I would agree. Generally speaking the average SG buyers will value badge power over the car itself. It wouldn't surprise me if an average SG car buyer wants a family sedan, but goes for an A3 sedan over say a higher end Mazda 6, just it's got a premium brand behind it.  That is despite the A3 likely not fulfilling their needs as a full size family sedan, or the mazda6 being (in my eyes), the better car. 

Why can't someone be price sensitive and end up paying a bit more for another car?

Being sensitive means they only want to pay a certain amount for an Asian car, what they perceive is the value they accord to it..

Eg, people are used to a Merc C Class being 50-80% more than a Corolla, which has more rear legroom, but are up in arms that the Corolla costs 10-20% more than the Elantra.. 

 

Yep, a while back, we have an ardent supporter of the A3, zero sometime was his nick.. he chose the A3 over the Corolla, despite the A3 being smaller and 10k more expensive..

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50 minutes ago, therock said:

Why can't someone be price sensitive and end up paying a bit more for another car?

Being sensitive means they only want to pay a certain amount for an Asian car, what they perceive is the value they accord to it..

Eg, people are used to a Merc C Class being 50-80% more than a Corolla, which has more rear legroom, but are up in arms that the Corolla costs 10-20% more than the Elantra.. 

 

Yep, a while back, we have an ardent supporter of the A3, zero sometime was his nick.. he chose the A3 over the Corolla, despite the A3 being smaller and 10k more expensive..

Different definitions of price sensitivity. At least in my world, price sensitive means that lowest price is their number one priority, provided the item meets the core requirements they desire (ie other niceties are good, but if it increases price beyond the core requirement, then they would rather go with the cheaper item). 

"Value for money" in my world probably aligns to what you're talking about. Meaning a buyer is willing to pay more money for what they perceive to better quality/more features etc. That is, a buyer that wants to make maximise their dollar and won't mind paying more money if they an stretch their dollar further. 

Those are two personas of buyers. Noting there are many different personas.  Not saying your definition is wrong, just doesn't align to my understanding. 

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4 hours ago, ferrytales said:

there arent other asian executive cars in SG anyway apart from Mazda 6 which is the market leader as there is no direct competitor to it if we are looking at a jap/korean luxury sedan, lets not factor in entry level conti, etc. Honda accord is way overpriced too, no luxury sedan offerings from the kimchi too in the recent years apart from sonata/optima which didn't really sell well due to the high coe period. 

kimchi in sg gave up and went for the kill with b&b sedans like cerato/elantra which are selling like hot cakes due to the attractive pricing, suvs are doing well too. 

 

Mazda 6 will continue to sell well. It got price spot on.

How they derivred the omv. I dunno sia. Across the border, mazda 6 is more ex than the accord n passat. Passat surprisingly cheaper a lot there.

Elantra will continue to sell well.

Maybe jazz. Tiagong should have a new jazz soon

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Mazda6

Mazda3

Honda Jazz

Hyundai Elantra

New Toyota Altis 😴

New Honda City 😆

New Skoda Octavia 

Throwing in a few new changes:

Skoda Scala just because looks good

Facelift Subaru Impreza because it's a Subaru

Facelift Mitsubishi Attrage just for the price

 

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My prediction is that the 2020 Honda City and 2020 Honda Jazz will dominate the sub-compact sedan and sub-compact hatchback market respectively.

Hyundai Elantra will capture the price sensitive end of the compact sedan market. Drive is decent but buyers will have to live with the interior dominated by hard plastics.

2019 Mazda 3 and 2020 Toyota Altis will have to duke it out for the rest of the compact japanese sedan market.

Having driven both cars, I feel that the Mazda 3 interior is much more premium and refined (i mean what's up with that weird retrofitted plastic box for the radio / CD head unit in the Toyota Altis? Try lightly knocking on it in the showroom and you'll understand what i mean).  Sound system for the Altis felt very dead and indistinct. Mazda 3's sound system as much clearer with better bass. 

The 2020 Toyota Altis TNGA platform finally allows some semblance of driving pleasure (felt a bit predictable and artificial if you ask me, as if you asked a bunch of engineers instead of race drivers to tune the suspension) but the steering is still way too neutral and saps any joy out of taking the curves. The engine and CVT gearbox are also weirdly not as eager to go as the previous Altis. 

The 2019 Mazda 3 feels very natural taking corners, the suspension has great character and the 6 speed auto box is on point with gear selection. At first thought the auto gearbox was a bit laggy at low speeds but you just need to re-learn how to adjust the pressure on the accelerator. 1.5 L mazda 3 engine ironically felt more lively than the 1.6 L engine of the 2020 Altis. 

The New 2020 Skoda Octavia will be a hit for the compact sedan conti-lovers. Have not had a chance to drive one but would love to try it out once i gets to our shores.

Edited by noobcarbuyer
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