RAWANG (Jan 4): Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is expecting sales of over 2,000 units per month in the first year of the release of its latest model, the three-row seven-seater sports utility vehicle (SUV) Perodua Aruz.
"We plan sales of about 2,000 plus a month [for this year]," Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad told theedgemarkets.com.
Since its opening for booking at 11am yesterday, Zainal said the company has recorded about 300 bookings.
"And 60% of that is [bookings] for the higher grade," he added.
On the timing of the model's release, Zainal said it was a coincidence that it happened just after Proton's recent launch of its X70 SUV.
"We have planned from the beginning to launch [Aruz] sometime in January, and it is so happened that Proton launched [X70] around the same time as well. It is indeed part of our development strategy and it is as per our development schedule," he said.
Zainal denied that the Azur will be a direct competitor to the X70.
"Our SUV is not really a C-segment vehicle; it is a B-segment car so it is a compact SUV. So I don't think it is a direct competition [to the X70]," he said.
Aruz's estimated on-the-road prices before insurance is between RM72,200 and RM77,200.
The Aruz comes in two variants, the 1.5 X and the 1.5 Advance, and is available in five colour options — Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Electric Blue, Granite Grey and a new Amazon Green.
During a ceremony at the Perodua headquarters here today with the automotive vendor community, Zainal announced that Perodua recorded sales of 227,000 vehicles in 2018, about 11% higher than the 205,000 vehicles sold in 2017.
"This is beyond our expectation and this performance was due to unique circumstances in 2018, such as the tax holiday which happened between June and August.
"The new Myvi which was launched in November 2017 also contributed positively to our sales performance last year," he added.
Zainal said Perodua is in the midst of its second transformation phase to further improve the quality, cost efficiency and delivery of its products and services.
For 2019, Perodua will continue its efforts in these areas, with the aim of taking itself and the local automotive industry to the regional level and beyond.
"My team and I will build upon the foundation that the previous leaders have laid and see through the implementation of our second transformation phase up to 2021.
"We will continue our cause on our transformation programme; this means defending our market share domestically and vigorously pursuing export opportunities in Asia-Pacific region and beyond," he added.