Mercedes-Benz has overtaken BMW, Mitsubishi has displaced Hyundai, and Subaru has come in from the cold. While the frontrunners remain unchanged, the first six months of this year have seen a major shake-up among the rest of the top 10 brands in Singapore.

Among the members of the Motor Traders Association of Singapore (MTA), the three most popular marques in the first six months of 2007 are the same trio as at end-2006. Toyota (including Lexus), Nissan and Honda, in that order, continue to sell the highest number of passenger cars.

But the No 4 brand for the first half of 2007 is now Mitsubishi, with 4,541 units (see table). Hyundai has slipped one place to No 5 with 3,463 units, although the Korean carmaker would have retained its original spot if its 1,194 diesel taxis were included.

'Our strong sales figures can be attributed to our aggressive marketing efforts since 2005,' says a spokesman of Cycle & Carriage Automotive, the authorised Mitsubishi distributor. 'We have been building momentum with Ralliart and other innovative marketing initiatives which have certainly helped in our appeal to our target segment who appreciate performance and sportiness in the brand.'

The spokesman adds that the company is confident the upcoming launch of the all-new Mitsubishi Lancer EX will give further impetus to sales growth.

But the new Lancer, which will be launched next month, will be a more expensive model than the old Lancer, which, because of its low price, sold in huge numbers. From January to June 2007, 3,766 units were registered, or a whopping 83 per cent of total Mitsubishi sales.

As for the premium brands, for the first time since 2005 when BMW trumped Mercedes-Benz in total car sales here, the three-pointed star has finally managed to edge out its traditional rival. It has gained two places to seventh, while BMW stayed unchanged at eighth.

The lead was established as early as in January this year and at half-time, it was 1,874 Mercs versus 1,853 Beemers (among MTA members). The gap would have been wider if Merc's taxi sales of 100 units were included.

But as with other marques, the numbers are cyclical as they are dependent on model age. For example, the new S-Class and the facelifted E-Class are currently doing very well because of the former's relatively recent introduction two-and-a-half years ago, and the September 2006 rejuvenation of the latter - traditionally Mercedes' most popular model.

This compares with the ageing 7 Series and 5 Series. But soon, it will be these two cars' turn to have a new generation. Also likely to have played a part in Merc's resurgence is the resolution of previous quality issues, something substantiated by last month's JD Power quality study which saw the brand leapfrog from 27th position to fifth. The arrival of the new C-Class in August will likely stretch Merc's lead over BMW. There are more than 100 orders for the $156,888 entry-level C200. But no bookings are being taken yet for the bigger C280 and C350 because pricing has not been confirmed.

This is because the distributor wants to include the Advanced Agility Control Package - which makes the steering, gearbox and suspension sportier - a standard feature.

But the biggest upsets were Kia's plunge to the bottom and Subaru's entry into the top 10. The former skidded down four places, while the latter jumped from 11th place last year to ninth at half-time with sales of 1,689 cars.

In the meantime, the quirky Japanese make elbowed out Chevrolet, which used to be in 10th place but is now ranked No12 after 11th-placed Suzuki.

'All Subaru cars have all-wheel drive, combining performance with safety. This gives Subaru a premium edge over our rivals,' says Glenn Tan, group chief executive of Motor Image Enterprises, the regional distributor for Subaru. 'Creative and aggressive marketing initiatives have also helped to create a lot of awareness for the brand.'

He says the Subaru Impreza model has been the best-selling model to date.

Mr Tan adds: 'Later this year, we will be launching the new hatchback version of the Impreza which we are confident will win even more fans.'