For Karamjit Singh, age is just a number and at 60, he still has ‘The Right Stuff’ to not only compete in rallies but also become a champion. The younger generation may have physical agility and perhaps even more bravery but this uncle has experience in the sport that goes back over 35 years – before some of them were even born!
Driving a Proton Gen2, Karamjit and co-driver Jagdev Singh were today crowned champions of the 2022 VANTAGE Malaysian National Rally Championship (MNRC). ‘The Flying Sikh’ shows that his age is no barrier (nor is the age of his rallycar which is 15 years old) and has been recognized as Asia’s most successful rally driver.
It’s pretty much expected that when the official numbers for 2022 are announced by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) in the near future, Perodua will again be at the top of the list. It has been the bestselling brand since 2006 and its volumes have grown steadily over the years.
Last year, the increase in sales was 48.2% over the year before, taking the total volume to 282,019 units. To meet the demand, production naturally had to rise in tandem and 289,054 units were delivered by the two factories, an increase of 49.5%.
Being No.1 for so long has not made the Malaysian carmaker complacent; in fact, it has never taken its leadership position for granted and has planned its progress carefully and thoughtfully. This was particularly important to face the challenges of the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other issues affecting the industry.
Perodua recently contributed RM151,000 to two public hospitals as part of its ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility initiative in further enhance the public healthcare system. The contribution (in the form of goods and equipment) was presented by JH Rozman Jaafar, Chief Operating Officer of Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd, to the respective hospital managements.
Perodua contributed items including diagnostic equipment, rehabilitation equipment, patient care equipment, dialysis machine and even hampers for the patients as well as frontliners at Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu and Hospital Selayang.
With one month remaining to the year, Perodua’s total sales volume has reached 250,785 units, already exceeding its 2022 target of 247,800 units. The output from the Malaysian carmaker’s two factories also reached new highs in November as the company shifts into higher gear to meet demand.
During the month of November, another 28,592 units were added to the sales volume, an increase of 40.9% when compared with 20,299 units delivered in November 2021, and a 10.6% increase when over the 25,849 units delivered in October this year.
The cumulative sales volume of Perodua crossed the 200,000 mark at the end of last month, reaching a total of 222,203 vehicles delivered nationwide since January. The 10-month volume, when compared to the same period in 2021, was 51.2% higher but it should be remembered that there were lockdowns that limited business activities last year.
“There was a gap in sales between June and August last year due to the lockdown imposed by the government to contain COVID-19 cases. Moving forward, we expect the registration momentum to continue upwards until the end of the year,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.
Perodua’s deliveries in the third quarter of 2022 increased as the automotive supply chain continues to improve and more vehicles can be completed. The Malaysian carmaker delivered a total of 69,011 units nationwide, an increase of 5% compared to the volume for the second quarter of the year.
Commenting on the improvement, Perodua’s President & CEO, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, said: “The increase in registration in this quarter shows that most of the major issues within the automotive supply chain have normalised. It is now time to further improve on production as we need to reduce the waiting period for our valued customers.,”
Perodua today officially started its unique study program which involves members of the public using a Perodua Ativa Hybrid in their daily lives. The program is for the purpose of gaining insights into usage of electrified vehicles in Malaysia and the information will help Perodua in its electrification journey.
“The Perodua Ativa Hybrid would be the best vehicle for us to gain unique insights on Malaysian behaviour as a controlled group, as this data will be used to anticipate our customers’ needs when using an electric vehicle,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.
August was a good month for the carmakers in Malaysia as improved production output enabled them to deliver more vehicles. Like Proton, market leader Perodua also reported significantly higher numbers for its August deliveries with 26,039 units registered nationwide or 42% more than in July.
“We are currently trying to build on this production improvement to ensure speedier delivery to our customers,” Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.
The Bezza had the highest output in August but the Myvi remains the brand’s bestseller.
Bezza output highest Of the 28,036 units produced in August, the Bezza accounted for the most number (24.2%), closely followed by the Myvi which accounted for 22.2%. The Axia output was the third highest with 4,857 units (17.3%) leaving the factory in Sg. Choh, Selangor.
“For the newly launched Alza, we have received bookings of 51,000 units so far,” said Dato’ Sri Zainal, adding that 7,682 units registered in July and August. An average of over 1,000 orders were received daily in the first 27 days after bookings opened, swelling the order bank to over 30,000 orders by launch day.
10 months to get Alza? With production of the new Alza having started in June and a targeted volume of 3,000 units a month, the already large number of orders means that the waiting period could stretch to 10 months.
The cumulative volume of deliveries achieved for the first 8 months of this year shows an increase of 63.7% to 171,728. In the same period in 2021, 104,933 units were registered nationwide.
Dato’ Sri Zainal points out, however, that this comparison must also be seen in the light of the country having a lockdown situation between June 1 to August 15 last year. During that time, all non-essential operations were stopped, including vehicle production and sales activities.
The ‘King’ is still bestseller “The Myvi remains our bestseller this year with 48,658 units delivered, followed by the Bezza with 39,642 units, and the Axia 37,013 units,” he said.
Supply better but costs rising Dato’ Sri Zainal said the improvement in production and sales came about as some key issues have been resolved at the moment. These issues relate to the global semiconductor chip supply shortage and insufficient labour at some suppliers’ operations which lead to disrupted supply of some components.
“We are also closely monitoring the increase in prices of raw materials at the moment and are working with the ecosystem on how best to mitigate this impact to our production operations,” he added.
To know more about Perodua’s products and services, visit www.perodua.com.my.
Perodua today handed over another 5 units of the Myvi to the Selangor Police Contingent as a service to the public and country. The donation is part of the Malaysian carmaker’s ongoing activities relating to Corporate Social Responsibility which has seen other cars also being donated to the police earlier.
The 5 Myvis were handed over by Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin (right), Perodua’s Chairman, to Dato’ Arjunaidi Mohamed (left), the Police Chief of the PDRM Selangor contingent.
The Myvis will be assigned to police stations in the Hulu Langat and Gombak districts and used for various purposes. The value of the donation is RM400,000 and this includes 2 years of free scheduled maintenance and required parts for each car. The car is, of course, also covered by the 5-year factory warranty that all Myvis come with.
The units provided are the Myvi AV version which comes with Perodua Smart Drive Assist that comprises Advanced Safety Assist (A.S.A.), Driving Assist, Parking Assist and Headlamp Assist. Apart from the PDRM blue/yellow livery on the bodywork and a light bar on the roof, the cars are pretty standard as they are not intended to be used for pursuit.
Senior police officers inspecting the new cars for their fleet.
Of course, if necessary, the Myvi’s ‘hidden’ capabilities can be drawn upon. As we have seen in many incidents, the Myvi (which has come to be nicknamed ‘King’) seems invincible as it can crash into shops, fly through the air and even tip over other cars it rams!
But while these have gained it fame in a notorious way, there’s no denying that the Myvi is a much-loved car by Malaysians as it occupies the top spot in sales year after year. This year, the Myvi accounted for almost 30% of the 127,543 vehicles delivered by Perodua.
There are 5 versions of the Myvi available with prices ranging from RM46,500 to RM59,900 (excluding insurance). 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre engines are available, but all versions use a CVT and manual transmission is no longer available with this generation.
To know more about the Myvi or to locate a showroom to test one, visit www.perodua.com.my.
With the accelerated pace of development in industries, a revolution is taking place and where the automotive industry is concerned, this revolution will take companies to the next level with cutting-edge technologies, processes and machinery. This transformation of the automotive industry is referred to as Industry 4.0., a term inspired by Germany’s ‘Industrie 4.0’, a government initiative to promote connected manufacturing and a digital convergence between industry, businesses and other processes.
To promote the adoption of Industry 4.0, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and Perodua are gearing up through a strategic partnership to introduce the MIDA-Perodua Digital Transformation Ecosystem Programme. The programme aims to upgrade local automotive suppliers and to digitalise their manufacturing processes through adoption of Industry 4.0.
Developing local players’ capabilities “Local companies play a major role in building the nation’s industry ecosystem–geared to support large companies and MNCs. The initiation of the MIDA-Perodua collaboration in 2020 was crucial to ensure a steady development of our local player’s capabilities in the automotive industry,” said Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA.
“Under MIDA’s initiative to facilitate these companies to adopt digitalisation and Industry 4.0, we have been successful to contributing immense growth in Perodua’s manufacturing volume, through the empowerment of its industry partners and service providers.” he said.
Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, President & CEO of Perodua.
Local technology ecosystem development According to Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, Perodua’s President & CEO, the MIDA-Perodua Digital Transformation Ecosystem Programme is aligned with the government’s efforts to enhance local technology ecosystem development activities in terms of supply and value chains, research and development activities, and innovation and commercialisation. The programme has shown a promising sign as the first group of participants had implemented their proposed projects.
“The implementation of Industry 4.0 is not only for the automotive supplier’s benefit, but the impact of this programme will contribute greatly to the national’s digital transformation agenda. The programme also can fast-track Malaysia’s industries, from small to large, as it provides both funds and guidance,” Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin said.
“Perodua’s role has always been to develop the automotive ecosystem and this programme is another example of our commitment towards this objective,” he added.
Eight participants in programme The first phase of MIDA-Perodua strategic partnership has brought forth three potential Perodua-friendly partner – LSF Technology Sdn.Bhd., J.K. Wire Harness Sdn. Bhd. and Autoliv Hirotako Safety Sdn. Bhd. These companies have also been granted Domestic Investment Strategic Fund as part of the government’s initiative to assist the local companies to embark into the global supply chain.
Moving forward to Industry 4.0, MIDA and Perodua have identified five more vendors with much potential and growth opportunities. These are Armstrong Auto Parts Sdn. Bhd., Ingress Aoi Technologies Sdn. Bhd., Namicoh Suria Sdn. Bhd., P.D. Kawamura Kako Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. and Kumpulan Jebco (M) Sdn. Bhd.
MIDA, being the pivotal principal promotional agency of Malaysia, will be extending their support services to help more companies obtain growth in terms of productivity, talent and bridging financial and technology gaps.
The agency is confident that through such facilities and empowerment measures, these automotive players will be able to increase their business offerings and expertise to innovate its products and services and climb the supply chain ecosystems.
