Perodua sales accelerate to 117,100 vehicles in first half
PETALING JAYA: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) recorded higher sales of 117,100 cars in the first half of this year.
This was 17.5 per cent more than the 99,700 units sold in the same period last year, it said.
The country’s top carmaker by sales is maintaining its full-year target of 209,000 units.
Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Aminar Rashid Salleh said the company also grabbed 49.4 per cent market share of the total industry volume (TIV) in the first half, another record for the firm.
Perodua increased production to 109,000 units between January and June, up 10 per cent in the same period a year ago.
It is keeping its production target at 215,300 units this year, up 7.5 per cent from 200,1000 units last year.
“We are ready to face the challenges in the second half of the year. We expect growth in the second half to be challenging, mainly because of the ringgit, which is expected to trade RM3.95 against the US dollar, the Overnight Policy Rate of 3.25 per cent and average crude oil price of between US$75 and US$80 (RM305 and RM326) per barrel.
“The automotive market is facing fierce competition and a slowdown in TIV growth. We expect to end this year with a 35 per cent market share,” he said at a briefing, here, yesterday.
Perodua also did not rule out the possibility of raising prices when the Sales and Services Tax comes into force next month.
Aminar said it was too early to gauge the impact as talks between industry players and Customs were ongoing.