March’s auto sales to be supported by higher delivery of new models

KUCHING: The automotive sector’s March 2019 sales is projected by analysts to be supported by higher delivery of new models from Perodua, Honda, Toyota and Proton.

According to the Malaysian Automotive Association ( MAA), the sales volume for February 2019 amounted to 39,838 units, down from 40,563 from the corresponding period of the previous year.

MAA went on to project that the sales volume for March 2019 is expected to be better than February 2019, on the back of a longer working month and rush for deliveries by companies having their financial year ending on March 31, 2019.

“Moreover, March 2019 sales will be supported by the higher delivery of the new models, including the all-new Perodua ARUZ (entry-level sports utility vehicle ( SUV) segment), Honda HR-V facelift (includes Hybrid), all-new Toyota Vios, all-new Toyota Rush, all-new Proton X70, face-lifted Proton Persona and Iriz ( based on X70 unique features),” the research arm of Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd ( Kenanga Research) said.

On national carmakers, Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd (AffinHwang Capital) also expected Proton sales to remain robust in the coming months, spurred by the deliveries of its maiden SUV, X70 and refreshed models in the pipeline, such as the facelifted Iriz and facelifted Persona.

Meanwhile, AffinHwang Capital believed the expected launch of the all-new Toyota Yaris in the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19) and the all-new BMW 3 series ( 3Q19) will invigorate 2019 sales for these two brands.

“In addition, the lower Mazda sales of 700 units in February 2019 should be temporary, in our view, considering the existing bookings of 2,000 units and upcoming model launches (ie. Mazda 3 and CX- 8),” the research firm said.

Overall, Kenanga Research maintained its 2019 total industry volume ( TIV) target of 590,000 units, which was below MAA’s target of 600,000 units.

The research arm had factored in possible delay in new launches’ timing given the backlog of pricing approvals from the authorities (five to seven months), absence of sales boosting tax-holiday, and tepid purchasing power given the weak consumer sentiment.

It noted that 4Q18 Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) consumer sentiment index scored 96.8 points, which was below the optimistic threshold (more than 100 points) due to muted growth post zero-rated tax holiday, as expected.

“The Ministry of International Trade and Industry ( MITI) has concluded that they will increase the frequency of the monthly meetings held by the Automotive Business Development Committee (ABDC), which is chaired by MITI, from once to twice a month to speed up the vehicles pricing approval process,” Kenanga Research said.