KUCHING: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd’s (Perodua) sales is expected to be driven further with the new release of its new MyVi 1.5 litre engine.
In a phone interview with The Borneo Post, TA Securities Holdings Bhd analyst, Steve Tan was quick to note his prospects of the new model as he believed that the new 1.5-litre model would provide Perodua with an added advantage.
“I have no doubt about the performance of the new MyVi model as I believe that it will contribute to Perodua’s earnings given the variety of choices provided by the group now,” highlighted Tan.
Despite the optimism expressed by Tan with regards to the performance of the new model, he however pointed out his wariness over the group’s performance for the remaining calendar year 2011.
According to Tan, sales of cars tend to have a seasonal pattern throughout the year where sales were more sluggish towards the fourth quarter and would only pick up at the start of the following year.
“People prefer to hold back their purchasing interest at the end of the year and only acquire the cars the early start following year as they perceive that the cars will most likely retrieve a higher sales value when it is purchased at a later year.
“Second-hand car buyers in general do not focus on the month that the car was originally purchased, but rather the year. Hence, people tend to wait till start of the subsequent year to acquire the car. Therefore, sales will most likely pick up for both the 1.3 litre and 1.5 litre variant early next year,” opined Tan.
This coupled with the perception the public has towards the global economic uncertainties put the sales of high-ticket items like automobiles and properties on hold. Consumers as Tan noted, would prefer to hold-back their purchasing power amidst doubts.
As such, he remained bearish on the total industry volume (TIV) and expected TIV to shrink by two per cent to 593,000 units this year.
Moreover, as the 1.3 litre model launch was delayed from April to June this year, its previous model had suffered a decline in sales where people chose to wait for the newer model to be released. Perodua car sales had shrunk by 14 per cent from January to July.
Hence, on a year-on-year basis, Tan opined that sales for Perodua would most likely be normalised and fare better at the start of next year.