KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 4): Carmaker Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) said its 2021 vehicle sales volume fell by 13.6% to 190,291 units, from 220,154 units sold in 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic, the semiconductor chip supply disruption and recent floods adversely affected production.

“The 190,291 registrations were below our target of 200,000 units for 2021 as the challenges in 2021 was greater than anticipated,” Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 4).

The group achieved the weaker-than-expected vehicle sales volume despite having already cut its sales target twice — to 214,000 units from 240,000 units in September last year, followed by another revision to 200,000 in November 2021.

“Despite the lower-than-expected performance for 2021, our countermeasures for the impact of Covid-19 have proven successful so far as we and our suppliers are dynamically cooperating and coordinating our efforts to ensure interruptions are minimised.

“These efforts include having a ready team of personnel to take active countermeasures at an alternate site if a supplier is under lockdown and also by allocating Perodua staff to shore up any suppliers that need temporary manpower replacements,” Zainal said.

However, Perodua’s sales performance for December 2021 rose by 13% month-on-month to 22,940 units from 20,299 vehicles in November 2021, as countermeasures on intermittent supply disruption caused by the pandemic bore fruit.

Zainal shared that the Myvi continued to lead the overall Malaysian market in terms of sales by model with 47,525 units, followed by the Axia and Bezza, which led the country’s A segment market.

“We thank our customers for their support and understanding, especially those who have been waiting patiently for their Perodua vehicle. God willing, deliveries will further improve in the coming months,” Zainal added.

On the overall industry, Zainal expected the total industry volume (TIV) for the year to also decrease, by an estimated 4.5% to 504,536 units from the 528,172 units sold in 2020.

While the local automotive supply chain had taken a massive setback in recent years, Zainal said there is a silver lining as the order bank for Perodua vehicles remains healthy as consumers are still responding positively to the sales tax exemption introduced by the government.

For the 2022’s vehicle sales target of 240,000 which was announced last month, Zainal said “we will likely review that figure later this month (January) as we are taking into account the latest developments and events into consideration”.

Regarding the recent Perodua Flood Assistance programme, Zainal said about 1,675 people have responded to it and the vehicles are being inspected at Perodua’s service centres across the country.

“Our priority now is to work with the insurance companies as well as our other partners to hasten any approval process needed to repair and restore the flood damaged vehicles," he said.