In Cars, Local News, Perodua / By Danny Tan / 19 January 2018 3:46 pm / 35 comments

Perodua exceeded its 2017 sales target of 202,000 units by posting vehicle sales of 204,900 units last year. That’s 1.1% lower than the 207,100 units registered in 2016, attributed to challenging market conditions, intense competition and strict hire purchase guidelines.

However, the Rawang-based carmaker comfortably extended its market leading position to 12 years, while maintaining market share at above 35% (35.6%, 0.1% lower than in 2016). “The momentum carried by the Bezza in the earlier part of 2017 and the continued demand for our other models have helped make us the top-selling carmaker in Malaysia for the 12th year running,” said Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh, president and CEO of Perodua.

As detailed in a separate piece earlier, the new Myvi has been an instant success for Perodua, gaining 36,000 bookings in less than two and a half months after order books opened in November 2017. Of this, 11,000 units have been delivered. The ratio of orders is currently at 85% for the 1.5 litre variants and 15% for the 1.3 litre model. As P2’s original projection was 55:45, the company has backlog to clear, but it’s a “good problem to have” as margins for the top model are higher.

Production in 2017 declined by 6% to 200,000 units, in tandem with the slightly lower sales. All other parameters went up, including service revenue (up 12%), service intake (up 3%), and revenue from parts and accessories (up 7%). Aminar said that the current forex situation, where the ringgit has regained ground from the US dollar, is also benefiting Perodua’s bottom line, as the company imports in USD and Japanese yen.

The P2 chief also pointed to the higher service intake ratio for post-warranty cars, which rose from 32% to 36% last year. This means that more customers are choosing to continue servicing their cars with Perodua after the expiration of their warranty.

Looking forward, Perodua is setting a sales target of 209,000 units for 2018, which is 2% higher than 2017 sales. “Based on our internal calculations, we expect the total industry volume to increase to 590,000 units in 2018, which could see our market share sustained at slightly above 35%,” Aminar said, citing favourable economic conditions and continued momentum from the Myvi as push factors.

Aside from selling new cars, after-sales is a big and growing revenue stream for Perodua. Service intake is expected to grow by 1.9% to 2.14 million this year, and the network will be upgraded accordingly.

“While we look to further increase our sales this year, we are also aggressively growing our after-sales business to meet the expected increase in the number of customers moving forward. This will be done by upgrading current facilities to have more bays and by further improving our people’s competencies. This will reduce customer waiting time while at the same time increase intakes,” Aminar explained.

As for corporate responsibility, P2 will be undertaking a few long-term projects targeted at youth and sports. Perodua’s partner Daihatsu has chosen to go into badminton and the US$350,000 Perodua Malaysia Masters international tournament is now happening in Bukit Jalil, with the finals taking place this Sunday. The Perodua Eco Challenge is another long-standing CR programme by the carmaker.