KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Holdings Bhd's (UMW Group) automotive sales jumped 133.3 per cent month-on-month (MoM) to 22,193 units in September from 9,512 units sold in August 2021.
The conglomerate said this was mainly attributed to the company's normalise operations at its manufacturing factories, following easing of the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) restrictions from August 16, 2021.
UMW Group subsidiary's, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) and associate company, Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), have continued to ramp up production to hasten the delivery of their outstanding orders.
President and group chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said the demand for UMWT and Perodua products and services remained strong, as evidenced by the healthy level of outstanding orders.
"The company expects the automotive sales momentum to peak in the last quarter of the year, supported by the year-end promotions and the sales tax exemption.
"We are also hopeful that the sales tax exemption will be extended beyond December 31, 2021, to hasten the recovery of the automotive industry.
"We are thankful to our customers for their continuous support of our products and services, despite the challenges," he said in a statement today.
UMWT's sales rose threefold to 8,033 units in September 2021, from the 2,524 units registered in August 2021.
Year-to-date (YTD) September 2021, UMWT's sales grew 23.5 per cent to 46,118 units compared to 37,339 units registered in the same period in 2020.
It added Toyota Vios continues to be Toyota's best-selling model for September 2021, followed by Hilux and Yaris.
UMWT had recently planned to commence production of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in Malaysia to advance its carbon neutrality initiative.
UMWT said it would progressively diversify its offering in the electrified vehicle space as the country advances the policies and infrastructure to promote the transition into vehicle electrification.
This plan also aligned with the Malaysian government's 2050 carbon-neutral goal and its push for energy-efficient vehicles (EEV) to support environmentally friendly mobility initiatives.
Meanwhile, Perodua registered sales of 14,160 units in September 2021, more than doubled the 6,988 units sold in August 2021.
Perodua said it would continue its efforts to ramp up production to meet its customers' demand on the back of the gradual resumption of the automotive supply chain.
For the first nine months of 2021, Perodua delivered a total of 119,093 units, 17.9 per cent lower than the 145,012 units registered in the same period of 2020.
This was mainly due to FMCO and partly the semiconductor chips shortage.
Nonetheless, Perodua said it managed to secure sufficient semiconductor chips to ensure uninterrupted production for the remainder of the year.