KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — Perodua, which sold 96,281 vehicles in the first five months of 2021, is maintaining its sales target of 240,000 cars for the year, despite the ongoing pandemic and the semiconductor shortage.

President and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said while Perodua’s year-to-date May sales of 96,281 cars was 82 per cent more than 52,920 cars sold in the same period last year, the achievement was distorted as the movement control order 1.0 was in place from March to May last year.

He said a fairer comparison would be against 2019, when Perodua sold 105,745 cars in the first five months, accounting for 8.9 per cent more than it did in the same period this year.

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“The impact of the pandemic and the semiconductor shortage can be seen in the 12 per cent sales reduction from April’s 20,399 cars to May’s 17,973 cars.

“Despite these challenges and barring further uncertainties moving forward, we believe we will be able to meet our 240,000 cars sales target for 2021 as demand remains strong for all of our models,” he said in a statement today.

Zainal Abidin said Perodua thanked the government for extending the sales tax exemption until year-end, as it will help bolster Perodua strong demand, encourage economic activity, and sustain the Malaysian automotive ecosystem.

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On service centre operation during the lockdown, he asks Perodua’s customers to contact their nearest service outlet for the latest information.

Perodua manufactured 18,283 cars in May, boosting its year-to-date production tally to 98,944 cars. — Bernama