KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd’s (Perodua) June car sales jumped to 21,250 units — its highest monthly figure so far this year and an increase of 169.5% over May’s sales of 7,886 units. 

The sharp rise followed the sales tax exemption announced by the government on June 5, said Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad. 

He said the tax exemption, aimed at boosting car sales amid the Covid-19 crisis, has provided many benefits for consumers including reduced vehicle prices of up to 6% for Perodua cars. 

“The sizeable volume increase we’ve had as a result of that, allows us to help the supplier and dealer ecosystem in this time of need — we purchased nearly RM500 million worth of local components in June alone,” he said in a statement today. 

“Our operations are now at full capacity and maximum overtime. We are working very hard to ensure our customers receive their cars as quickly as possible, with no compromise on safety and quality,” he added. 

Perodua sold 8,601 cars in March before the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into effect on March 18. This resulted in the temporary suspension of the company’s operations nationwide for two months. Perodua officially resumed operations on May 19, the carmaker said. 

Year-to-date, Perodua has sold some 74,000 cars.

“We are immensely grateful to be able to bounce back with such energy in just under two months since we restarted operations nationwide. Our outlook is positive and we hope this momentum will continue and help the industry grow,” Zainal said. 

“We reiterate our commitment to the government, as Malaysia’s biggest carmaker by volume, to help the industry and ecosystem wherever we can including sustaining employment, so that we can all get through this difficult time,” he added.