Malaysian car sales Archives

Perodua ends 2021 with 190,291 vehicles sold, with Myvi continuing as bestselling model in the country

In 2020, although the COVID-19 pandemic started, Perodua was able to sell 220,154 vehicles. However, in 2021, apart from the disruption of a long suspension of business, the supply issues for semiconductors and more recently, severe floods in many states, saw the carmaker’s sales volume for the year falling by 13.6%to 190,291 units.

The drop might have been slightly more but a last big push in December managed to increase the sales volume in the final month of 2021 to 22,940 units, 13% higher than the November volume. Part of the reason for the higher volume was also due to countermeasures on intermittent supply disruption due to COVID-19 issues, enabling more vehicles to leave the two factories.

“The 190,291 registrations were below our target of 200,000 units for 2021 as the challenges in 2021 was greater than anticipated,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad. “God-willing, deliveries will further improve in the coming months.”

The Myvi, updated in mid-November, continued to be the bestselling model in the Malaysian market with 47,525 units delivered nationwide. It has taken the market-leading position for 12 of the past 15 years, with the other 3 years being taken by the smaller Axia which, together with the Bezza, dominating the country’s A-segment.

Looking at overall industry performance in 2021, Dato’ Zainal said that the Total Industry Volume (TIV) for the year would also see a similar sales impact with an estimated decrease of 23.6% to 504,536 units from the 528,172 units sold in 2020.

“Despite the lower than expected performance for 2021, our countermeasures for the impact of COVID-19 have proven successful so far as we and our suppliers are dynamically cooperating and coordinating our efforts to ensure interruptions are minimised,” he said.

“These efforts include having a ready team of personnel to take active countermeasures at an alternate site if a supplier is under lockdown and also by allocating Perodua staff to shore up any suppliers that need temporary manpower replacements,” he revealed.

“The local automotive supply chain has also taken a massive setback in recent years. However, there is a silver lining as the order bank for Perodua vehicles remains healthy as consumers are still responding positively to the sales tax exemption introduced by the government,” Dato’ Zainal said.

On the year ahead, Dato’ Zainal said that the company had offered a forecast of 240,000 units for 2022. However, this number will likely be reviewed later this month, taking into consideration the latest developments and events.

Regarding the recent Perodua Flood Assistance programme, Dato’ Zainal said about 1,675 owners have responded to the programme and their vehicles are being inspected at Perodua service centres across the country.

“The Perodua Flood Assistance programme, which was announced by the Prime Minister, December 26 2021, has drawn a lot of interest from the public. Our priority now is to work with the insurance companies as well as other our other partners to hasten any approval process needed to repair and restore the flood damaged vehicles,” Dato Zainal said.

“We understand that most of our customers rely on their Perodua for their daily activities and we will do our best to assist,” he added. Perodua is offering up to 50% discount on selected parts needed to repair flood-damaged vehicles, and there will be no charge for labour for repair work (excluding car cleaning and detailing).

Perodua owners whose vehicles have been damaged by flood can contact the company’s support line 1-800-88-5555 to get assistance, especially for towing services (terms and conditions apply). To locate a Perodua service centre in Malaysia, visit www.perodua.com.my.

Perodua offers assistance to flood-affected customers with 50% discount on selected parts

7.5% drop in new vehicle sales for November as one month remains to hit 500,000 units for 2022

*All data from monthly reports of Malaysian Automotive Association.*

The Total Industry Volume (TIV) for November was 58,742 units, a drop of 7.5% from October and 4% less than what was recorded in November 2020.

This decrease was attributed to reduced supplies of certain models due to the global shortage of microchips (as well as some parts), and some members of the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) also believe that customers may have deferred plans to purchase their new vehicles after learning that the sales tax exemption would be extended till June 30, 2022.

Although there are production delays at some plants due to shortage of parts, the total output in November of 58,0-79 units was 6% higher than for the same month in 2020.

The cumulative TIV over 11 months reached 441,136 units – 4% below the volume achieved for the same period in 2020. This means that the industry would have to deliver 58,864 vehicles in December to hit the forecast of 500,000 units. While the MAA is optimistic that there will be a higher TIV in December, it is hard to predict just how much higher due to the supply issue. Typically, there is a significant jump at the end of the year with promotions and a final push by companies to get the best numbers before they close the year’s books. In 2020, the TIV went from 56,489 units in November to 64,836 units.

Production disruptions reduce Perodua deliveries in November by 27.1%

New vehicle sales continue rising with 43% increase in October

*Data sources: Monthly reports of the Malaysian Automotive Association.*

With more days in September and continued progress towards normalising activities in the business sector, new vehicle sales continued to rise. Although 4.8% lower than October 2020, the Total Industry Volume (TIV) of new vehicles registered in the month was 43% higher than September.

It’s uncertain how much of the increase was from new orders as the more popular models from the two leading Malaysia carmakers – Perodua and Proton – have a backlog. Production has been interrupted due to the global microchip shortage which worsens the situation of delayed deliveries which was already evident before the long period of lockdown.

Cumulatively, after 10 months, the TIV has not reached the same level as the 10-month period in 2020 and the 2021 TIV is 382,379 units or 5% lower than the same period in 2020.

The plants have been working flat out to raise output but there is also a dependence on their suppliers, some of whom have their own production issues and disruptions. For this reason, Perodua has ensured that the ‘ecosystem’ remains as intact as possible by helping its suppliers in various ways so that they do not have to shut down.

Compared to the same month in 2020, total output in October 2021 was 12% higher with 61,248 passenger vehicles (excluding pick-up trucks) and 4,162 commercial vehicles assembled.

From January to October 2021, the total number of vehicles produced was 369,406 units, about 5,000 units less than the same period in 2020.

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) expects that the TIV has reached a plateau and November numbers will be similar. There may, however, be disruption to supply of imported vehicles as the plants in other countries may be hampered by the microchip shortage. Generally, companies like Perodua expect to be able to maintain production levels until the end of the year as they have a commitment from their suppliers but are undertain of the situation in 2022.

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Third consecutive month of higher sales as market recovers after long shutdown

Source: Monthly reports of the Malaysian Automotive Association

The Total Industry Volume (TIV) for the month continued to rise for a third consecutive month, September being the first full month of business after the long forced suspension of activities. The TIV increased by 153% compared to August sales, translating to a volume difference of 26,775 units.

Of the 44,275 units, 38,315 were passenger vehicles (excluding pick-up trucks) while 5,960 units were commercial vehicles (including pick-up trucks). Pick-up trucks account for between 65% to 70% of commercial vehicle sales.

Compared to the same month in 2020, however, the TIV in 2021 was 23% lower. The gap for cumulative sales over 9 months was smaller at 7%; in the same period last year, 344,019 vehicles were sold whereas in 2021, the total number reached only 318,874 units.

According to the Malaysian Automotive Association, some companies are affected by the global chip shortage and are having delays in deliveries to customers. This situation affects CBU models as well as those that are locally assembled although not equally at different plants.

Production nevertheless has been climbing in the same manner as sales numbers, with most plants able to operate at full capacity. The government allows those factories with a minimum of 80% of their workforce fully vaccinated to carry out operations with full attendance.

The total production volume for September was 229% greater than the output in August, with 45,972 vehicles assembled. Of this number, 42,556 units were passenger vehicles.

Cumulative production from January to September reached 303,996 units, 4% lower than the 315,863 units that were assembled over the same period in 2020.

The MAA expects October sales to show continued increase as output of vehicles is pushed as much as possible, while the companies are doing their best to meet 2021 targets if possible. There are still a few new models that will be launched before the end of the year so customer interest will be high. And of course, towards the end of the year, there will also be promotions that will entice many to buy a new vehicle.

Perodua sales and deliveries accelerating with 102% increase between September and August

July new vehicle sales higher but nowhere near normal levels

As expected, new vehicle sales in July 2021 were way down, though not as rock-bottom as June when the Total Industry Volume (TIV) was under 2,000 units. As in June, the continued closure of showrooms meant that no sales could be conducted and even if they could, registering the vehicles would not be possible. However, July’s TIV was 270% or 5,465 units higher as showrooms could operate in Sabah and Sarawak so sales were possible there and accounted for the higher numbers.

Minimal bookings from online channels
According to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), which has been compiling data since the 1960s, members reported that bookings via online channels were minimal. These ‘virtual showrooms’ started to appear over the past year as stricter SOPs were in force and there was also concern that customers might not be comfortable coming to showrooms. Customers can make bookings and make payments via online transfers to at least start the process. However, there are still the other things like loan applications which still need some personal interaction.

The cumulative TIV after 7 months reached 256,215 units this year, which was about 10% higher than for the same period in 2020 – and this has been with 2 months of virtually no sales. With sales resuming from mid-August, there will be a backlog to clear plus new orders so the TIV by year-end might still be higher than for 2020.

3-digit production figures
On the production side, the assembly plants have had to suspend operations too and the output fell to three digits in June but rose again in July. The disruption has been challenging for the plants which very much prefer consistent assembly. The shortage of microchips is also slowing output and as the end of the year nears, pressure will be on to deliver as many vehicles as possible because car companies are using the sales tax exemption as a selling point. It expires at the end of this year so many will want to make sure they can enjoy those savings.

Will sales pick up again?
Looking ahead, the MAA expects August sales to be better although there are only two weeks to the end of the month for sales. Furthermore, given the current situation in the country, not only with the pandemic but also the political situation, consumer sentiment may be cautious, and people will be reluctant to spend a lot.

According to MAA President, Datuk Aishah Ahmad, total losses for the local auto industry for the months of June and July have been estimated to be more than RM14 billion. “This is just only from sales of vehicles in the domestic market. Our members also lost much in terms of revenue from exports of vehicles and components, and sales of spare parts locally. All in all, these losses had been very substantial and unprecedented”, she said.

Car showrooms, accessory stores and carwash centres can resume operations from August 16

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