Toyota Vios Vs. Honda City: Year To date July 2011 Malaysian Car Sales

Numbers don't lie, and here's the proof. These are are the sales data sourced from Paultan.org which were sourced from  Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).One of the more apparent comparison that's within the means of middle class Malaysian is a entry level Japanese Vehicle, and the 2 that comes to the average consumer mind is Vios versus City.

Now if you know what I'm talking about, this is the Vios "dugong" versus the modern macho design for the city (compared to the predecessor which was slightly feminist).According to the number below, for every 1 Honda City, there are 2 Toyota Vios which comes as quite a surprise. 

What happened to common sense? What happened to 5 gears of automatic transmission, a new iVTEC engine, more horsepower, much better looks, bigger boot, a more crisp interior and better seats ?

My first reaction was pointed at the Honda Insight, which was launched at the very end of 2010. The Honda Insight must have cannibalized the City numbers. But a quick check dispels that idea. 3080 units year to date for the Honda Insight and addiing that to Honda City's results in 10882. Still 6k short of Vios. 

Without any data to show, and a handful of people to have a chat on the above matter, I believe in general Malaysian holds Honda and Toyota almost in the same regards when compared to other marques. But the numbers do not back that up. I believe when you compare both side by side, Toyoto edges out Honda. 


There are only 2 reasonable conclusions I can think of

1. Pricing is very crucial in this market segment.
2. More choices within Vios family means a wider pricing range starting from RM 71 k to RM 90k (TRD sportivo) - too bad data doen't show which spec is of the highest seller.
3. Malaysians in general, have a higher preference for Toyota

to be continued...