KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT), a subsidiary of UMW Holdings Bhd, sold 7,509 vehicles in July, its highest number for the year and 70 per cent more than the 4,417 units registered in June.

In a statement today, UMW said the improved sales in the month was mainly due to the sales tax exemption announced by the government on June 5, effective from June 15-December 31, 2020.

"Toyota Vios continues to be its best-selling model in July, contributing about 34 per cent of its total sales. Earlier in June, UMWT introduced the all-new fifth generation Toyota RAV4, a fully-imported Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) from Japan,” it said.

Spearheaded by its automotive segment following encouraging sales achieved by UMWT and its 38 per cent-associate company Perodua in July, UMW said it is looking forward to an improved financial performance in the second half of 2020.

The group’s automotive market share is estimated at 52 per cent in July, higher than the 51.4 per cent registered in 2019.

Meanwhile, July marked Perodua’s highest monthly sales for the year with 23,203 vehicles, a 9.2 per cent increase from the 21,250 units sold in June.

"Perodua is also increasing production at both its assembly plants to meet the strong demand,” it said.

UMW’s acting president and group chief executive officer Azmin Che Yusoff said both UMWT and Perodua staged a strong recovery following disruptions to sales earlier this year due to Covid-19.

He said the group is encouraged by the promising sales registered by both companies in July.

"We are also thankful to the government for introducing economic stimulus packages and implementing sales tax exemption to boost the automotive industry in Malaysia. With these measures in place, we are confident of achieving our sales targets for the year,” he said. — Bernama