National car marques likely to surpass sales targets
PETALING JAYA: Proton and Perodua will likely exceed their 2019 sales targets, opined Affin Hwang Capital.
The national marques’ first 11 months (11M19) market share stood strong at 56.6%. Notably, Proton’s November sales volume doubled to 9,600 units, with 11M19 sales volume of 89,000 units (+51% yoy).
“We think Proton will likely exceed its 2019 sales target of 100,000 units, considering the popular demand for the 2019 Proton Saga and the X70,“said the research house.
Meanwhile, Perodua’s November 2019 sales dipped by 3% year-onyear (yoy) to 20,400 units. Nonetheless, Perodua maintained its dominant position with 11M19 market share of 40.4%.
“With 11M19 sales volume of 222,000 units (+6% yoy), we believe Perodua definitely will exceed its 2019 sales target of 235,000 units (average three-year monthly sales volume of 18,700 units,“Affin Hwang said in a report.
November total industry volume (TIV) rose 9% yoy to 52,600 units, thanks to the stronger sales performance from Proton and Toyota. Although the year-end promotional campaigns saw sequential improvement for most key carmakers, the monthly sales were flat (-2% mom) due to a decline in Perodua sales volume (10% mom). All in, the 11M19 TIV was flat at 549.500 units (-0.2% yoy), accounting for 92.2% of Affin Hwang’s full-year forecasts, so within expectations.
“We maintain our neutral rating on the auto sector. Our sector top pick is MBM Resources Bhd for its appealing valuation.”
Meanwhile, AmInvestment Bank continues to be optimistic on the national car marques Proton and Perodua while it stays cautious on the foreign and premium car brands, as consumers are more careful and conservative with their discretionary spending, indirectly benefitting cheaper and better value-for-money cars.
Its top picks for the sector are DRB-Hicom Bhd and MBM Resources as they ride on the strong sales of Proton and Perodua vehicles which command the bulk of the market share in terms of TIV sales.