Perodua ‘cautiously optimistic’ of better sales in Q4
TOKYO: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is aiming for stronger sales in the fourth quarter as there is a possibility for the national carmaker to unveil a new model before year-end.
Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Aminar Rashid Salleh said there are new initiatives in store, including launching a new vehicle as well as aggressive campaigns to sell its existing car models by the end of the year.
“We are cautiously optimistic of better sales in the fourth quarter due to new initiatives planned and we maintain our sales target for 2017,” he added.
Perodua is maintaining its sales target of 202,000 units this year.
For the first nine months ended September 30, the company’s sales climbed 0.5% to 151,600 units, from 150,600 units in the corresponding period last year.
However, in the third quarter this year, the company’s sales dipped 3% to 51,900 units, from the 53,500 units last year partly due to the stringent vetting process in higher purchase loan approvals.
According to Malaysian Automotive Association data, the number of vehicles registered was down 20.8% in September to 40,981 units, from 51,720 units in August this year due to a shorter working month in September as well as tighter loan approvals.
Commenting on the 3% drop in sales in the third quarter this year compared with last year, Aminar pointed out that this was due to the surge in sales during the third quarter of last year following the launch of the new Perodua Bezza.
“That impact has normalised now and our sales have benefited from the models in production,” said Aminar.
The Perodua Bezza was officially launched on July 21 last year.
Meanwhile, Aminar has noted that the challenge the carmaker is facing is the declining trend in the conversion numbers from bookings to sales, adding that it stands at an average of 48% this year compared to 70% in the last two years.
“The biggest challenge is the loan approval process for higher purchase vehicles. As much as 90% of our customers rely on loans, while the remaining 10% use cash to buy vehicles,” he said.
On the other hand, its after-sales segment performance rose 4.6% to 1.58 million vehicles from 1.51 million for the first nine months of this year due to the company’s transformation plan from manufacturing to after-sales as well as an improvement in the body and paint business.