KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian automotive industry maximised its potential through shared responsibility in meeting customers' expectations in many aspects last year, resulting in Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd's (Perodua) best performance on record so far.
"These achievements were also the result of the local ecosystem's shared commitment towards our customers and our collective roles in advancing this industry," president and chief executive officer Datuk Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad said in a statement.
Vehicle production rose by 49.5 per cent to 289,054 units in 2022 compared with 193,400 units in 2021, while sales saw an increase of 48.2 per cent to 282,019 units compared with 190,291 vehicles registered in 2021.
The after-sales market saw intakes grow to 2.6 million, a 30 per cent increase from 2.0 million service intakes in 2021.
"The industry did a lot soul searching, and from the learning points obtained during the pandemic, we realised that we needed to take active steps to recover in 2021—which saw its fair share of challenges. From there, we maximised the ecosystem's potential in 2022," Zainal said.
He said 2022 also had its obstacles which included the ecosystem's recovery from the massive flood, the shortage of workers due to spikes in Covid-19 cases at the supplier level, the shortage of semiconductor chips supply and the sudden increase in raw material prices.
Zainal said that with proper planning, Perodua and its partners could overcome these challenges and find much-needed growth for the industry.
"Our goal was to meet customers' expectations of us – not just in terms of delivery of products and services but also in introducing greater value offerings to all Malaysians," Zainal said.
He said that, as a result, 2022 was the best year for the Malaysian automotive industry and Perodua.
"This can be seen with our December 2022 production and sales performance, which averaged 1,000 vehicles made and registered per day," Zainal said.
For 2023, he said Perodua and its partners would focus on leveraging the growth and expanding capacity.
"For this to come true, we hope material and fuel prices remain manageable. But, at the same time, we also hope that foreign exchange and interest rates will be favourable to industry growth," Zainal said.
He added that if these factors remain acceptable, Perodua will maintain its vehicle prices.
"For now, our priority is to deliver to those who booked their Perodua within the sales tax exemption period, as the price for these vehicles will remain as agreed until the 31 March 2023 deadline," he said.
He said Perodua would continue introducing new technologies in its future products and services and invest in innovations in its operations.
"In addition, we will also encourage our partners, namely our suppliers and dealers, to continue to invest in new technologies so that they can be more competitive and productive.
"We will announce the full list of our targets later in January, but I wish to take this opportunity to thank the government for their continued support, our partners for their dedication, the Perodua staff for their sacrifice and hard work, and especially our valued customers for their loyal support," he said.
