Perodua, which recorded sales of 151,600 units for the first 9 months ending 30 September 2017, up 0.5% from 150,600 in the same period in 2016, is cautiously optimistic of better sales in the fourth quarter on 2017 due to new initiatives planned in the last quarter of the year.
For the third quarter of 2017, Perodua sales slowed slightly by 3% to 51,900 against 53,500 for the third quarter of 2016.
“The larger sales number in the third quarter last year was due to the then newly introduced Bezza. That impact has normalised now and our sales have benefitted from the model’s introduction,” Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk (Dr) Aminar Rashid Salleh said.
The Perodua Bezza was launched on 21st July 2016.
Datuk (Dr) Aminar said challenges for the fourth quarter of 2017 include challenging approvals for hire-purchase loans and expected intense competition from other auto brands.
“Since the national 2018 Budget is just around the corner, there seems to be a wait and see attitude this month resulting in a comparatively slow sales.”
“The fourth quarter is expected to be challenging but we believe that we can sustain our sales momentum and are cautiously optimistic in meeting our earlier set target of 202,000 vehicles by the end of 2017,” he said.
Datuk (Dr) Aminar said that on a year-to- date basis, all of Perodua’s models were the best-seller in their respective categories.
From January to September this year, the Axia is the country’s best selling A-segment compact hatch with 48,700 units sold, followed by the Myvi which was the country’s best-selling B-segment hatch with 42,000 units, the Bezza, the best-selling compact A-segment sedan at 39,800 units and the Alza, the best-selling MPV at 21,400 units.
“We wish to thank all Malaysians for their trust in our brand and we will continue to improve ourselves; both in our products and our services to serve you better,” Datuk (Dr) Aminar said.
With regards to Perodua’s after sales performance, Datuk (Dr) Aminar said the service intake (the number of vehicles patronising Perodua service centres) has increased by 4.6% to 1.58 million for the first 9 months ending 30 September 2017 against 1.51 million intakes for the same period last year.
On production, Perodua manufactured 147,900 vehicles for the first 9 months of the year, a reduction of 3.8% compared with 153,700 units produced in the same period last year.
Datuk (Dr) Aminar said that the reduction was planned as some of the vehicle stock was produced in the fourth quarter of 2016 in response to the expected higher exchange rate in the first quarter of 2017.
