Malaysia Autoshow 2018

The Malaysia Autoshow 2018’s Edition was launched by YAB Prime Minister on 26^th April at MAEPS Serdang. The show will run for 4 days until 29^th April. This year, the selected theme for the show is 360 Degree Mobility Experience. It is much bigger than last year with more than 100 cars being displayed. The participation from OEMS are much better and grander this time around. In addition to cars display, there are other showcases including components, accessories and technologies, including Mobility Intelligent and Virtual Reality. There are alos the Car Care Week Zone, Pre-registered Cars Zone, in addition to the Off-Road and Test Drive Zones. In conjunction with the Autoshow, Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI), as the organizer, also kicked off (also launched by YAB Prime Minister)) the showcase for Connected Mobility (Jeyawaraya Mobiliti Terhubung).

On the car exhibition zone, most of the major brands are present this year. Proton is showcasing the half cut mock up of their upcoming 1^st SUV as well as their Iriz rally car that recently won the Cambrian Rally in UK. Unlike last year, Honda did not have any new model unveiling this time but offering interesting interactive experience to visitors at their booth. Kia is showing its latest Picanto, which is also one of the model to be given out by the organizer to the lucky visitor at the show. VW unveiled its special edition VW Golf R Line in addition to many other of its product range. VW also have may pre-registered cars at Pre-Registered Cars Zone.

The above, are just to names a few of the displays at Hall A. There are many more including in few other Halls and in the vicinity.

Mobiliti Terhubung or Connected Mobility is a new normal globally. Malaysian government, through MAI with NAP 2018 as the platform is setting the pace for the automotive industry in Malaysia to prepare for forthcoming revolution with Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) commanding the future mobility more than just human alone.

Perodua’s present at the exhibition with the theme of “Closer to People” through its booth “boulevard” concept. The highlight of the showcase is the the all new Bezza 1.0 liter GXtra, which was unveiled by YAB Prime Minister during his visit to the booth on 26^th April 2018.

Perodua Bezza GXtra is an upgraded version of the earlier Bezza 1.0L Standard G variant with the inclusion of some features Bezza 1.3 Premium X. All in, the perceived value of the additional features for Bezza GXtra is around RM2,700 and an OTR reduction of RM 500 from the previous Bezza Standard G.  With OTR of RM37,500 and RM35,500 for the AT and MT respectively, Perodua customers need to pay only RM382 and RM405 montly respectively (for 90 percent loan of 9 years). This Perodua EEV compliance model now came with Bluetooth At Audio, Piano Black IP Garnish and many other extra features previously only available in Bezza 1.3L Premium X. And it also came with additional body color ( B81 Ocean Blue).

Perodua also featuring its other products such as Myvi, Axia and Alza with special Autoshow’s discount. Also at Perodua booth, other activities such as Parts Sales, Gear Up accessories and merchandise, UFirst membership and many others. Outside of the hall, Perodua also have its Pre-Owned Vehicle booth displaying 20 units of refurbished (with warranty) Perodua used cars for sales at a special discount. Also at the Car Care Week Zone, Perodua’s Tweckbox team is there to offer free inspection for all Perodua vehicles.

For me, this is an opportunity for all to bring the family to have a look at the showcase and enjoy many offering and activities prepared by the OEMs. Kudos to MAI for organizing this annual show.

First Quarter 2018 - TIV by Segment

The composition of the Malaysian TIV for 1^st quarter 2018 seems to be slightly different from previous years. The share of Passenger Car (PC) for first 3 months of 2018 is expected (pending official figure by MAA) to be higher by 1 percent compared to 2017 whole year. Up to March, the share for PC segment was around 66.3 percent. Nonetheless, this is much lower than the share in 2014, 2015 and 2016 at 68.6 percent, 68.1 percent and 67.1 percent respectively.

It seems that the share of PC segment continues to be taken by 4x4 segment, which also includes the SUV models. For January to March 2018, the 4x4 segment increased by 2.4 percent from 10.6 percent last year. This, mainly contributed by strong demand for Honda HRV and CRV. In actual fact, 4x4 share this year, at 13 percent is the highest ever in Malaysian automotive market.

Whilst, the MPV segment, which have been steadily growing in the last many years is now starting to decline. For 1^st quarter 2018, the share of MPV segment was only 10 percent compared to 12.9 percent in 2017. Among others, the reason for lower MPV share was attributed to declining popularity of MPV globally. Indonesia, which is among the biggest MPV market in the region also recorded much lower MPV sales over the last few years. Also, there was no new MPV model launched into the market over the last 6 months.

By models, within PC segment, the new Perodua Myvi emerged as the best-seller model with 24,500 units sold from January to March 2018. Perodua Axia was second with 15,000 units and Perodua Bezza at third placing with 10,600 units. The Honda City and Proton Saga at 4^th and 5^th placing with 7,300 and 5,800 units respectively.

Honda controlled the SUV segment with two of its models at the top during the 1^st quarter 2018. Honda HRV has registered 4,300 units and the Honda CRV registered 3,700 units.

Within the MPV segment, 6,000 units of Perodua Alza were registered, followed by Honda BRV with 2,400 units.

In-terms of total volume by model, all the four Perodua models were among the top 5 best-selling models for 1^st quarter 2018. The top 5 models were Myvi, Axia, Bezza, City and Alza.

4x4 segment is going to be an interesting segment to watch moving forward, especially with the growing trend of SUVs. It is no secret that Proton is entering the segment with its “Boyue”. This entrance is expected to break the dominance of Honda in this segment.

For me. "the more the merrier".

March 2018 - What a Hat-trick

Despite an upward trend, Malaysia automotive market continues to be weak and has not recover from the declined in the last quarter of 2017. Typically, March has always been a good month for car sales in Malaysia. So does this year but the improvement was rather small and short of its past years’ performances.

The TIV for March 2018 is expected to be around 50,165 units (pending official announcement by MAA). Improved by 9,587 units from February 2018, but almost 3,500 units lower compared to the same period in 2017. During last 7 years, car sales in Malaysia for the month of March was averaging around 57,000 units. There were at least 2 years when it even went up to more than 60,000 units.

Looking at the prolonged weak market condition, it is now difficult to conclusively attribute the slow trend to just on the loan approval issue that have been haunting the industry for few years now. Perhaps, there is something else. Perhaps it is the sentiment. Perhaps it is the expectation on the forthcoming General Election. But for certain, it is not just about the loan issue.

Year to Date, the 1^st Quarter 2018 is also expected to be lower at around 135,318 units, down by 5,522 units or 3.9 percent compared to 1^st Quarter 2017 at 140,840 units. Most of the major brands in the market recorded a decline in 1^st Quarter 2018 against the same period in 2017.

Based on current market performance, the annualized TIV may not be as per earlier projection of 690,000 units.

Market share for national brands (Perodua and Proton) is expected to be around 50 percent, dropped by 2 percent compared to February 2018. However, On the positive side, the market share for national brands has been lingering above 50 percent for the 1^st three months this year, improved from below 50 percent, which were recorded during the previous 2 years.

On the contrary, Perodua continues to do well for three straight months in 2018. In March, Perodua managed to register 20,738 units, higher by 3,601 units than the month before and by 7.3 percent against March 2017. Though the volume is higher in March, market share for Perodua reduced marginally to 41.3 percent compared to 42.2 percent in February.

Perodua volume was contributed mainly by higher registration on the new Myvi. Perodua carried forward slightly over 30,000 booking of the new Myvi at the end of February. Consistent production has enable Perodua to register almost 9,000 Myvi in March. Demand on other models also remains strong resulting from the sales campaign “Malaysia No 1 Choice” carried through out March.Year to Date, Perodua has registered 55,568 units in 1^st Quarter 2018, a growth of 10.6 percent or 5,303 units compared to the same period last. This continue to position Perodua as the market leader in Malaysia automotive market with 41.1 percent market share from January to March 2018. This is a new record for Perodua.

For me, these hat-trick achievements are the real testaments of strong commitment and dedication among Peroduans to see the continuous success of Perodua. Congrats all and thank you Malaysians for the never ending support to us. In return, we will continue to give our best to serve our customers.