KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 — Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) sold over 227,243 vehicles in 2018, its highest ever sales record, and now aims to improve on that figure by four per cent to 231,000 units by end-2019.
The achievement would be underpinned by its best-selling model, the Myvi, and its latest sport utility vehicle, the Aruz, the car maker said in a statement.
The Myvi was Perodua’s best-selling model in 2018, with 82,122 units registered out of 117,844 units booked in that year alone.
From its November 2017 launch to date, registration of Myvi vehicles exceeded 91,500 while bookings amounted to 147,000.
The Axia was at the top of its segment with 70,821 units sold followed by Bezza ( 49,911) and Alza (24,389) in 2018.
“Perodua’s aim to boost its sales by 1.7 per cent this year will not only strengthen the brand but offer some relief to the Malaysian car industry, which is forecast to grow very minimally this year,” president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad was quoted as saying in the statement.
The Malaysian Automotive Association expected a 0.21 per cent increase in total industry volume growth to 600,000 units this year from 598,714 units last year.
"For Perodua, the Myvi is expected to remain popular this year. As for the Aruz, from Jan 3, we have collected nearly 5,700 bookings to date.
"Given that our sales target for the SUV is 2,500 units monthly, the figure is very encouraging indeed,” said Zainal.
He also said Perodua expected to increase its component purchases by 20 per cent from RM5 billion in 2018 to RM6 billion this year.
This was in line with the demand expected in 2019 and would directly benefit local automotive suppliers, Zainal added. — Bernama
