by AFIQ AZIZ / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) registered an estimated 20,399 vehicles in April, with the newly launched Ativa contributing 4,624 units.

Perodua saw its volume dipped by 16.5% month-on-month to 20,399 units from 24,431, mainly due to the semiconductor shortage affecting multiple industries globally.

Perodua president and CEO Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad (picture) said despite the global semiconductor chip shortage, Perodua managed to produce 20,278 vehicles in April, pushing its year-to-date (YTD) production to 80,661 units.

Perodua’s YTD sales volume stood at 78,304 units, up 74% from 45,034 units sold in the first four months last year.

The company had minimal registrations in April 2020 due to the first Movement Control Order implemented nationwide.

“The chip shortage is our top priority at present and we are deploying all our resources to deal with it, including working closely with the government and our business partners for viable solutions.

“Perodua remains committed towards timely deliveries, aided by our economies of scale,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He said the carmaker is doing all it can to deliver as many cars as possible before the expected expiry of the sales tax exemption in end-June.

Zainal Abidin said Perodua Ativa received strong demand with average bookings of nearly 290 daily.

A total of 9,000 units of Perodua Ativa have been registered since its launch date of March 3.

Zainal Abidin said the waiting period for Ativa is currently between two and four months, depending on the desired colour and variant.

Perodua maintains its 2021 sales target at 240,000 units, a conservative single-digit increase of 9% compared to the 220,163 units sold in 2020.

It also targets to produce 272,000 units of vehicles this year, a 23% increase from 220,968 units last year.

The company also aims for 2.4 million service intakes this year, a 20% jump from two million service intakes in 2020.

Zainal Abidin said the company is expected to lead to record purchase of RM6.5 billion worth of locally-sourced components this year.

Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has forecasted that the local automotive market will rebound in 2021, with the total industry volume (TIV) growing by nearly 8% from 529,434 units recorded in 2020.

The association is projecting a TIV of 570,000 for 2021, buoyed by the industry’s performance in the second half of 2020, a period that saw strong demand and sales volume surpassed the initial forecast of 470,000 units.

MAA said a number of economic and environmental factors were taken into account, including the continuation of the sales tax exemption for passenger vehicles under the short-term National Economic Recovery Plan.

The sales tax incentive was supposed to have ended on Dec 31 last year, but it has been extended until June 30 this year.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Malaysia recorded 604,287 units of vehicle sales in 2019, a 1% increase compared to 2018.