KUCHING: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) sees huge market potential in East Malaysia for its three concentrated models for this year, the Perodua Alza, Myvi and ViVa.At a media luncheon here yesterday, Perodua’s managing director, Aminar Rashid Salleh told The Borneo Post that its three models were well received in East Malaysia last year and expected it to be more so this year with the economic crunch lifting.
He related, “Perodua has targeted to sell 176,000 units in total for this year, which will be driven by the new model Alza, out of which, we are expecting approximately 15 per cent of the sales to come from the East Malaysian market.”
He added that out of the total sales of 166,700 units sold in 2009, an estimated 12 per cent was contributed by East Malaysia.
“Our three models are really feasible for the East Malaysian market requirement. If you notice, over the past few years, roads have improved in East Malaysia, which actually speaks well about the expanding automotive industry there,” he added.
He explained that ViVa being the entry level model, will best suit the lifestyle of those who have just started working. Myvi for Malaysians who have been working for some time and the Alza for those with not only a family but also for those with adventurous lifestyles.
He expressed, “Alza is so flexible that one does not need to be a family person to own it. East Malaysia is very well known for its ample tourist attracting spots, Alza would be perfect for them too, in case they want to be on the road with their travel equipment and such.”
Perodua will be having its Motorcade tour in East Malaysia early next month in conjunction with the launch of Alza, which will be going on for a week and it will be touring most of the major cities in East Malaysia to promote its models.
“We will be collaborating with our business partners and dealers to make the roadshow a success there,” said Aminar and added that they are looking forward to the participation of the East Malaysian state government if possible to complement it.
He explained that the company’s business partners will play a big role in supporting its roadshow, such as Maybank, Ambank, CIMB, Public Bank and RHB Bank to name a few.
Perodua ended 2009 as the number one car manufacturer in Malaysia for the fourth consecutive year, with sales hitting 166,700 units, bringing the figure to its second highest in the company’s history.
The 2009 sales represented 31.3 per cent market share compared with the previous year’s market share of 30.5 per cent.
“We did considerably well in 2009 with a 0.4 per cent drop despite the global economic downturn,” said Aminar and added that among other things in the stimulus package that was enforced, the scrap scheme for old cars that were 10 years and above contributed 20,000 new sales to national car makers including Perodua.
Perodua’s sales every month in the final quarter of 2009 was higher than the same period in 2008. He said, “We believe that the uptrend will continue in 2010 and our optimism is backed by the 5 per cent economic growth forecasted for this year by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister’s Department.
He added that the company’s optimism was also based on the fact that it received some 18,000 bookings for the Alza since the model launch on Nov 23 2009, with the waiting list currently at about three months. The market interest in Myvi and ViVa also continued to be strong with monthly average sales of 7,600 units and 5,700 units respectively.
Aminar disclosed that with the 176,000 units targeted for this year, Myvi, ViVa and Alza are expected to bring in sales of approximately 6,000 units, 5,000 units and 4,000 units respectively, in that order.
“We would really like to expand our market in East Malaysia and there is no better time than the present. We currently have 12 Perodua outlets in Sarawak and nine in Sabah. We will be looking into further expansion soon but for the moment, we have approved a Perodua service centre to open soon in Tuaran, Sabah,” he revealed.
Aminar explained that Perodua will not be rolling out any new models in 2010 but will be introducing enhancements to its existing models, which will be in line with its new model planning to introduce a new model every other year.