Perodua has issued a statement to warn the public that it has not made any announcement of 28 units of the Perodua Aruz being given away free on its 28th anniversary. Referring to a message that is circulating on several mobile messaging and social media platforms, the carmaker said it did not originate from Perodua and it appears to be a scam.
“We are now taking all the necessary actions to combat further spread of this scam message,” said Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad, President & CEO of Perodua. Noting that the message has a link inviting the public to register interest, he advised everyone to always be wary and cautious of any suspicious claims.
“Please deal only with staff at our authorized sales and service outlets, and refer to information on our official social media channels and official website at www.perodua.com.my,” he added.
With the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday period this month, long-distance travel likely to be done by many people. In conjunction with this, Goodyear Malaysia is reminding road-users to be safe on the roads by encouraging the replacement of worn-out tyres through a campaign in January and February.
Up to RM1,688 of petrol
The campaign will allow customers who purchase a pair of tyres that are part of Goodyear’s Worry-Free Assurance (WFA) programme to win petrol giftcards worth up to RM1,688. All customers need to do is register their newly purchased tyres and complete a slogan. Every entry ending with the numbers 8, 88 and 888 will stand a chance to win RM68, RM168 and RM1,688 worth of petrol giftcards, respectively.
Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance SUV
The Goodyear WFA programme covers the following tyres – Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3, Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 SUV, Eagle F1 Asymmetric SUV AT, Eagle Asymmetric 2 SUV, Eagle EfficientGrip, EfficientGrip Performance, EfficientGrip Performance SUV, EfficientGrip SUV, Assurance TripleMax 2, Wrangler TripleMax, and Optilife.
Alex Ng, Managing Director of Goodyear Malaysia said: “We have always been strong advocates of road safety and every festive period, we encourage consumers to make the necessary preparation for the long drive. Tyres are the most important aspect because it is the only thing that separates the road and the car. With good tyres, the chances of being affected by hazards become significantly lower, which is why Goodyear is once again encouraging drivers to opt for tyres covered under our Worry-Free Assurance programme to ensure peace of mind while driving. Through this Chinese New Year campaign, we are able to minimise road safety risks and, at the same time, give them an opportunity to win some great prizes.”
The WFA Programme
Goodyear’s WFA programme was developed and implemented to advocate tyre health and road safety while driving. Through WFA, Goodyear offers free replacement tyres within 6 months if there is damage to the tyres as a result of road hazards such as punctures, cuts, bulges and other impacts during the course of normal driving. In addition to that, WFA also provides a 5-year limited warranty on tyres for any manufacturing defects.
♦ The Total Industry Volume (TIV) in 2019 was 604,287 units, the first time that the volume of sales crossed the 600,000 level since 2015. The achievement was helped by a boost in December with total sales of 54,842 units, the second highest monthly volume in 2019.
♦ While sales of passenger vehicles rose by 3.2% compared to the year before, the opposite was the case for the commercial vehicle segment (which includes pick-up trucks) as it saw a decline of 17.4%. The uncertainty of the fate of major projects in the first half of the year as well as a general slowdown of the economy had companies holding back on capital expenditures.
♦ Sales of 4WDs and SUVs grew noticeably (8.4%) at the expense of passenger car and MPV segments, the former contracting by 3.9% and the latter by 4.5%. Nevertheless, passenger cars (sedans and hatchbacks) still accounted for the largest share of passenger vehicle sales (69.4%), while 4WDs/SUVs had a 22.6% share.
♦ Sales of pick-ups, once a popular segment, fell significantly from 44,443 units in 2018 to 35,121 units in 2019, a reduction of 21%. Nevertheless, these vehicles – which are used for personal transport as well as for business purposes – accounted for almost 65% of commercial vehicle sales.
♦ Local production of vehicles totaled 571,632 units in 2019, a modest 1.2% increase over the output in 2018. While more passenger vehicles were produced (+2.6%), the plants cut back on production of commercial vehicles by 15.6% in the light of uncertain demand.
From 2020 to 2024
♦ Looking ahead, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) does not expect the market to grow substantially in 2020 and has forecast a TIV of 607,000 units, just 0.5% more than the 2019 figure. As in the past, this will be reviewed after the first 6 months of sales.
♦ Looking further ahead for the period from 2021 to 2024, the MAA sees the market improving a bit and forecasts annual TIV growth of 2% to 2.3%, reaching 660,920 units by the end of 2024. With sales in Indonesia and Thailand currently around 300,000 units greater, Malaysia will remain at No.3 position in ASEAN.
In the past couple of weeks, there has been speculation that a new tax structure will result in new vehicle prices increasing after the Chinese New Year period. The matter (which related to excise duties) was even documented in the Government Gazette at the end of last year, catching the car companies by surprise.
Needless to say, the public was not happy, especially when it concerned increases in car prices. It’s a sensitive issue because the view is that our car prices are too high and that’s of course due to the taxes imposed. Rather than look at higher sales generating more taxes, the government prefers to just impose heavy taxes to get its revenue which is around RM7 billion a year from the auto industry.
Anyway, you can breathe easy now as the Finance Ministry has confirmed that there will be no increase in new vehicle prices, for the whole of 2020 at least. The good news was conveyed by Datuk Aishah Ahmad, President of the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), during the association’s annual press conference to review the market in 2019.
Good news for car companies and consumers
Datuk Aishah said she had actually been informed of a meeting to get the news but she said she was already committed to the press conference so the ministry officials thought it would be a timely announcement she could make when the media was gathered. It was a piece of good news for the industry – something rare as, more often than not, there are new policies which increase the challenges. This time, many people will be able to go off for their holidays relieved that they won’t be coming back to a more difficult situation.
“The Finance Ministry informed me this morning that there will be no increase in the on-the-road price of vehicles due to the transparent reporting of the Open Market Value (OMV). If there is any vehicle affected by this reporting, there will be 100% exemption on the increase incurred until December 31, 2020,” she said.
She was made to understand that any increase in prices as a result of the transparent methodology would be fully absorbed/exempted by the Finance Ministry during 2020, and the difference in duties for past years would also be exempted.
“This is effective immediately and our member companies have been asked to submit the OMV based on the transparent calculation to the Customs Department for those vehicles which are affected by applying the methodology,” Datuk Aishah said.
She explained that the methodology was not actually new and had been applied for years. However, with the transparent calculation, there should be no more disputes over the OMV and this will speed up things. It is understood that the actions of the ministry are related to its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Prices of CBU imported vehicles could change from the second half of this year with ‘real-time’ valuations for computing duties.
After 2020?
And what happens in 2021? “Well, we have been informed that there will be further consultations by the industry players with the Finance Ministry and Customs during the year,” she said, adding that the prices of CBU (completely built-up) imports would likely change after May 31, 2020. This is due to a revised method of computation which will be more ‘real-time’ with respect to the value of the vehicles.
So if you were worried that you might have to pay more if you buy after Chinese New Year, that’s not going to be the case. The announcement does not mean that prices won’t change as there are other factors that influence pricing, eg exchange rates, production costs, etc but those are beyond the control of the industry and the government. But as has also been the case for years, the companies will try their best to absorb increases for as long as they can so that their prices remain attractive and competitive.
Barrett-Jackson, which bills itself as ‘The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions’, recently kicked off its ‘Road to 50’ – a year-long celebration toward the company’s 50th Anniversary. The event was its largest and most successful auction in its 49-year history with a record number of bidders vying for over 1,900 vehicles that sold for more than US$129.7 million (about RM528 million).
Over 1,200 pieces of automobilia brought in more than US$3.7 million (RM15 million) and US$7.625 million (RM31 million) was raised through the sale of nine charity vehicles, bringing the total amount sold on the Barrett-Jackson auction block to more than US$141 million (RM574 million).
Among the nine collections auctioned – the most ever offered by Barrett-Jackson – was the Paul Walker Collection with 18 cars and 3 motorcycles. This collection was one of the most anticipated and set several auction records. The most notable was the 1995 BMW M3 Lightweight model – not one but five – that he owned. Walker, who passed away in November 2013, was an avid fan of BMW and had a total of seven M3s in his collection (including the 5 Lightweights).
Barrett-Jackson collected a total of US$1.32 million (RM5.37 million) for the 5 cars which were auctioned at prices varying between US$220,000 (RM895,500) and US$385,000 (RM1.57 million). The highest price was paid for the unit which had 7,500 kms on the clock (the lowest mileage of all the cars).
The M3 Lightweight was a very rare variant and while BMW never said how many were produced, between 120 and 130 were believed to have been built. The ’Lightweight’ refers to the focus on reducing weight for improved performance. Power came from a BMW S50 3.0-litre inline-6 engine and its output of 240 bhp/305 Nm passed through a 5-speed manual gearbox before reaching the rear wheels.
Intended for customers who wanted to go racing, the M3 Lightweight was pretty bare as many regular items – radio, air-conditioner, sunroof… even the toolkit – were omitted to save weight. As it is, the M3 of that era was not exactly luxurious with Teutonic obsession for functionality and along with aluminium doors, it was about 90 kgs lighter than the standard E36 M3.
Other celebrity-owned cars that were auctioned included Simon Cowell’s 1977 Ford Bronco and 2009 Bentley Azure, Mariano Rivera’s 2020 Toyota Supra Launch Edition and John Elway’s 1992 Dodge Viper. Two VIN 001 vehicles were also sold, one of them being the first retail production unit of the first-ever mid-engine Corvette. Powered by a 6.2-litre LT2 V8 engine with an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, it brought US$3 million (RM12.211 million), all of which went to the Detroit Children’s Fund.
According to Craig Jackson, son of co-founder Russ Jackson, the auction experienced a surge in new buyers who are snatching up high-quality, drivable customs and Resto-Mods. “New buyers want cars that offer all the modern luxuries and technology with the classic body styles, which continues to drive the demand for Resto-Mods. As their passion, knowledge and experience with collector cars mature, their focus shifts to collecting professionally restored, matching-numbers cars, which is a trend that is keeping this hobby alive and strong.”
2019 was a great year for Perodua as it surpassed all previous sales volumes with a total number of 240,341 vehicles delivered. The volume was 5.8% higher than the figure for 2018 which had been the prior record. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) will be releasing the full year’s sales data tomorrow but by Perodua’s own estimates that the Total Industry Volume (TIV) for 2019 was 604,775 units, the Malaysian carmaker’s share would have been 40%, an increase of 2% from 2018.
Announcing the achievement, Perodua’s President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad, said that all five models in its range – the Alza, Aruz, Bezza, Axia and Myvi – were segment leaders, with the Aruz notable for being Malaysia’s best-selling SUV with 30,115 units sold.
Export growth to get more attention
Continuing with its efforts on exports, the total volume sold in other countries last year was around 2,825 units, of which 1,800 units of the Myvi were purchased by Daihatsu and sold under its brand in Indonesia. To date, Perodua exports to 7 countries and Sri Lanka is its second largest overseas market where the Bezza was the bestselling sedan in the sub-1.0 litre segment.
The latest Myvi introduced in Mauritius attracted a lot of attention.
“While our exports remained modest, we are making good progress in establishing our brand overseas and are looking at further improving the numbers this year,” said Dato’ Zainal. He said that the government has urged Perodua to export more of its vehicles. However, there needs to be proper market studies to ensure that the products are the right ones (at the right price levels) and the marketing done properly. Since 2018, Perodua has stepped up its attention to exports after having been busy on its transformation and cost-competitiveness activities earlier.
Healthy aftersales business continues
Given the position at the lowest end of the market with the most affordable vehicles, it would seem that Perodua customers are probably going to buy one or two and then move upwards to other brands as their personal financial circumstances improve. They would also be less likely to continue using the aftersales services available from Perodua, believing that it’s cheaper to go to the smaller independent workshops.
However, Perodua’s figures show that there is a fairly high rate of retention in the aftersales business. Since 2015, service intake has grown by some 20% and while this would also be in tandem with the rising annual sales volume, there are still many owners who continue to return to Perodua’s service centres even after many years. Last year, the service centres nationwide handled over 2.35 million vehicles.
“We have the largest vehicle sales and service network in Malaysia. Our intention is not so much to expand further but to enhance the facilities we already have by working closely with our dealers for the benefit of our valued customers,” said Dato’ Zainal. “In this respect, the company is working with its dealers, which currently make up 75% of its sales and service network, to invest and upgrade facilities.”
Supporting local suppliers
Both Perodua and Proton have had the obligation of helping to develop the domestic automotive industry, particularly the suppliers so that parts and systems can be obtained locally. Perodua has been diligent at this and has consistently helped its suppliers to grow and remain ‘healthy’. Even in difficult market conditions when sales have slowed down, Perodua has stepped in to assist in various ways so that the vendors do not have serious financial problems that impact their ability to deliver on time and maintain quality.
Transmission production at a factory in Negeri Sembilan.
Last year, Perodua purchased around RM5.4 billion worth of parts from suppliers and at least 90% of the parts in its vehicles are local content. The suppliers themselves not only enjoy steady business from Perodua but a few are also supplying to Daihatsu factories overseas, an indication that Malaysian suppliers can also produce world-class products that meet the stringent quality demands of Japanese manufacturers.
Dato’ Zainal said he welcomed the healthy competition from Proton as it will only serve to motivate and strengthen Perodua. Furthermore, as Proton’s volumes rise, the suppliers will also prosper and be able to achieve better economies of scale with bigger orders from both carmakers. This will also help them lower their prices, a win-win situation for manufacturer and supplier.
Looking ahead
While the government expects GDP growth to be 4.8% in 2020, Perodua is cautious about its sales performance at this time until some issues – like the new National Automotive Policy – are clearer. So for now, the forecast for numbers remains at 240,000 with a market share target of 40%. Production volume is planned to rise by 4.1% or 10,000 units in anticipation of increased exports as well as fulfilling the backlog of orders for certain models.
Providing affordable cars for Malaysians has been one of Perodua’s constant objectives from the time it started.
With regard to price increases predicted in the near future (due to a revision of taxation for vehicles), Dato’ Zainal gave assurance that this won’t happen for Perodua products right away. “Our mission has always been to provide affordable vehicles and we would not just pass on any increases to customers. We will address the situation by ‘counter-measures’ to try to keep prices stable for as long as possible,” he explained.
On new models to be launched, he did not elaborate on specific models although the market is buzzing with rumours of a new compact SUV designated the D55L. This is said to be based on the Daihatsu Rocky launched in Japan last year and sits on the DNGA (Daihatsu New Generation Architecture) platform.
New Daihatsu Rocky launched in Japan last year is expected to be the basis of a new compact SUV model. How close will the Perodua version look to this?
However, Dato’ Zainal did share with us the product direction of the company which takes into account industry trends which could give clues to what the future product will have. In the slide, there were four subjects – Connected, Autonomous, Shared Services and Electric. These hint at features like cruise control which is a form of autonomous operation and might even be advanced cruise control with adaptive speeds. As it is, the A.S.A. driver assistance system already has autonomous capability such as automatic braking so Perodua may be able to get more advanced systems at a cost which allows them to be offered without raising the price.
‘Electric’ doesn’t necessarily mean an electric powertrain and Dato’ Zainal mentioned ‘downsizing’, the industry trend of reducing engine sizes but maintaining or improving performance through using direct fuel injection or turbocharging. Well, as it is, Perodua engines started off with an 850 cc engine in the Kancil and its range has had the smallest engines all this while. So they can’t get any smaller but adding an electric motor as a hybrid powertrain or using an electric compressor could be under study now.
Much of the advanced technology development would be done either by Daihatsu, its technical partner, or the suppliers. But where design and upper body development are concerned, Perodua R&D aims to further increase its capabilities. Since the development of the first Myvi, when Perodua was a ‘junior partner’ in the project which also involved Daihatsu and Toyota, the Malaysian carmaker’s capabilities have grown steadily. It reached a point where Malaysians could develop the Bezza sedan which is a model that you will not find in the Daihatsu range. Bear in mind that even adding a boot to the Axia involved engineering competence and it was not just a ‘cut-and-weld’ exercise.
Dato’ Zainal revealed that Daihatsu Indonesia has also called on Perodua R&D to assist in product development for models sold in Indonesia. He said that it is hoped that Perodua can become the ASEAN hub for Daihatsu where R&D is concerned. While Daihatsu’s operations in Indonesia are larger, they are more focused on production whereas Perodua has made bigger investments on R&D facilities.
Aerial view of the Perodua complex
“We have invested RM1.4 billion to date, which is higher than what Indonesia has spent on R&D, and we plan to continue investments in this area. Some of the money will go into extending the test track to 5 kms so that testing can be more comprehensive. Therefore, we hope that Daihatsu will consider making Perodua its R&D hub for ASEAN while Indonesia could be a production hub,” he said.
Perodua has a strong position as market leader, which it certainly deserves. But it is not going to take this dominance for granted and ‘relax’ and even though Proton, its closest rival, is intent on regaining its No.1 position, Perodua will stay focused with its own strategic plans for the coming years.
