Perodua Exception to Malaysia’s Weak Vehicle Sales in September

New-vehicle sales rose 3.3% to 45,872 units in September, with growth slowed as the public awaited news of the Malaysian government’s latest budget.

Cars saw a 1.5% uptick to 40,232 deliveries, while commercial vehicles jumped 18% to 5,640, according to Malaysian Automotive Assn. data reported by the state’s Bernama news agency.

The September result was down 11.5% from 51,823 units sold in August.

The MAA says production climbed 11.9%, compared with year-ago, to 50,096 units, with cars accounting for 45,138 and CVs at 4,958.

Market leader Perodua says its September sales grew 5.3%, compared with like 2011, to 13,900 units, pushing its 9-month total up 10% to 139,400. The auto maker credits healthy sales of the new Myvi car and increased demand for the Alza.

“We believe there is still an upside for our sales in the fourth quarter, as demand for our vehicles is still healthy, with bookings recorded in (the third quarter) reaching 61,800 units against a registration of 46,500 in the same period,” Perodua Managing Director Aminar Rashid Salleh says in a statement.

Aminar is cautiously optimistic that Perodua can achieve its 188,000-unit sales target for 2012. “Based on the forecasted total industry volume by the (MAA) of 615,000, we expect to maintain our 30% market share by year-end,” he says.