PERODUA SEES 2-3pc TIV GROWTH THIS YEAR
590,000-unit target ‘challenging to achieve’, says CEO
PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) expects to see minimal growth of total industry volume (TIV) this year. Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Aminar Rashid Salleh said the TIV target of 590,000 units would be challenging to achieve as the TIV as at end-November stood at 521,954 units.
He said Perodua forecast the TIV growth for this year at two to three per cent more than last year.
According to Perodua’s bookings for last year, Aminar Rashid said demand for cars was still healthy, while converting the bookings into sales remained a bit of a challenge.
“The bookings-to-sales conversion rate currently stands at about 45 per cent,” he said.
He added that Perodua’s products were tailored to suit all Malaysians.
He said industry players should offer greater value in their product line up, in line with the maturity of customers.
“This maturity will spur growth in the after-sales business as customers now better know their rights and demand for quality service,” he said.
Aminar Rashid said Perodua had taken into account customers’ preferences and needs when designing its vehicles.
“This will continue as we carry on improving ourselves to delight the market,” he added.
He said Perodua was cautiously confident of achieving its 202,000 units of sales target for last year, backed by the recently-launched new Myvi.
“The Myvi has garnered over 26,000 bookings and over 6,000 deliveries to date,” he said.
“We will reveal our full-year result and forecast in January,” he added.
Aminar Rashid said the economic condition would continue to be challenging as most people were not willing to spend or invest in big-ticket items, which included vehicles.
Asked whether the automotive sector would recover, Aminar said there were some uncertainties that might be detrimental to industry growth this year.
“For example, there might be an interest rate hike as the United States had indicated that it might increase the Overnight Policy Rate not once, but twice (in 2018). This would have a global impact, including in Malaysia,” he said.
Aminar Rashid said Perodua hoped the lending guidelines would not be tightened further.