KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) sales in the first quarter of 2022 (1Q22) rose 6.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 61,624 vehicles from 57,909 units sold between January and March 2021.
In a statement on Tuesday (April 5), Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said the impact of Covid-19 and component supply issues were still present, but the auto company was able to work with its suppliers and dealers to lessen the impact.
“Our focus is now to expedite delivery of the vehicles to our customers before the sales tax exemption deadline ends on June 30, 2022.
“That being said, Perodua also echoes the MAA’s (Malaysia Automotive Association) request to further extend the sales tax exemption as factors such as the global semiconductor supply disruption and Covid-19 cases are still impacting the industry,” he said.
Zainal said that the automotive industry, including its local ecosystem, was able to keep demand high and sustain the industry throughout the worst of the pandemic due to the government initiative (the sales tax exemption).
“Right now, the local automotive ecosystem is starting to recover and an extension of the sales tax exemption is what the industry needs for sustained growth during this recovery period,” he said.
Perodua registered 26,759 vehicles in March 2022, a 9.5% increase from 24,433 units sold in March 2021. Sales jumped 53.2% from 17,421 units registered in February 2022.
Zainal said Perodua’s highest monthly sales achievement was recorded in October 2021, with 27,858 units registered.
Moving forward, he said the carmaker foresees 2Q22 to be the highlight for the automotive industry as brands will deliver as many vehicles as they can within the three-month period.
“While semiconductor chip supply and Covid-19 would still influence production, we expect that production and registration will continue to improve. We do not foresee other factors such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to have a major impact on Perodua’s production moving forward.
“Based on these factors, we are maintaining our 247,000 sales target for this year,” said Zainal.