PETALING JAYA: UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, a 51%-owned unit of UMW Holdings Bhd, has reduced its sales target to 90,000 units this year from the 100,000 it announced two weeks ago, on weaker sales in the first quarter of this year (1Q15), lower volume and a challenging operating environment, said its president Datuk Ismet Suki.

“We are realistic about our sales performance last year and the first quarter of this year. Given the challenging operating environment, with negative sentiment surrounding the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) as well as the volume, we have decided to revise our sales target to 90,000 units,” Ismet told reporters yesterday after launching the all-new Toyota Camry.

Ismet, howver, declined to reveal the company’s total sales performance in 1Q15.

Maybank IB Research, in its note to clients yesterday, said sales of Toyota passenger cars in January and February this year plunged 45.1% to 5,856 units from 10,664 units in the same period a year ago.

Following the dismal sales in January and February, coupled with stiff competition and the prevailing negative consumer sentiment, the research house cut its sales target for Toyota this year by 17% to 75,000 units from an earlier forecast of 90,000 units.

 According to Ismet, the main challenge that the group faces is volume, despite having an almost fully-utilised manufacturing plant in Shah Alam which has the capacity to produce mass-market models on a larger scale.

“The problem that we have is volume, which correlates with demand. [But] I am optimistic that sales will start to pick up from 2Q15 onwards,” he said, adding that the company’s sales forecast will remain at 90,000 units for now.

In comparison, Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd on Wednesday announced that its total sales in 1Q15 grew 38% to 21,563 units from some 15,600 units in 1Q14, boosted by a record sales of 9,000 units in March.

“Together with the strong sales, we have managed to retain our No 1 position to lead in the non-national vehicle segment,” Honda Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Yoichiro Ueno said in a media statement, adding that the group was targeting to sell 85,000 units this year.

 At the launch earlier, Ismet said the group plans to sell 9,000 units of the all-new Toyota Camry this year, of which 7,000 units will be the hybrid variant.

The all-new Camry comes in three variants — Camry 2.0G, Camry 2.0E and Camry 2.5 Hybrid.

The new Camry is priced from RM149,000 to RM174,900 in Peninsular Malaysia, inclusive of insurance and GST. It comes with a standard three-year or 100,000km mileage warranty, whichever comes first. The hybrid battery, meanwhile, comes with an eight-year assurance programme.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 3, 2015.