KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd’s (Perodua) sales rose 13 per cent to 22,940 vehicles in December 2021 from 20,299 in November as counter measures on intermittent supply disruption due to Covid-19 began to see positive results.

However, on an annual basis, Perodua said it registered 190,291 vehicles sold in 2021, falling 13.6 per cent from 220,154 in 2020 as the impact of the pandemic, semiconductor chip supply disruption and recent floods adversely affected production.

In a statement today, president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said the 190,291 registrations were below the group target of 200,000 units as the challenges in 2021 were greater than anticipated.

Despite this, the Myvi continues to lead the overall Malaysian market in terms of sales by model with 47,525 units, followed by the Axia and Bezza models.

“Despite the lower-than-expected performance for 2021, measures to counter the impact of Covid-19 were successful. We and our suppliers are cooperating and coordinating our efforts to ensure interruptions are minimised.

“These efforts include having a ready team of personnel to take active counter measures at an alternate site if a supplier is under lockdown, we also allocate Perodua staff to shore up any suppliers who need temporary manpower replacements,” Zainal Abidin said.

Giving an industry overview, he said 2021 total industry volume (TIV) saw an estimated decrease of 23.6 per cent to 504,536 units versus 528,172 units sold in 2020.

“The local automotive supply chain had a massive setback in recent years. However, there is a silver lining as orders for Perodua vehicles remained healthy,” he said, adding that consumers continued to respond positively to the sales tax exemption introduced by the government.

In December 2021, he said Perodua has forecast sales target of 240,000 for 2022. The figure would likely be reviewed later this month, after taking into consideration the latest developments and events.

On the recent Perodua Flood Assistance programme, Zainal Abidin said some 1,675 people have responded and their vehicles are being inspected at Perodua service centres across the country.

The programme, announced by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on December 26, 2021, has attracted a lot of interest, he said.

Perodua’s priority is to work with insurance companies and other partners to hasten the approval process to repair and restore these flood-damaged vehicles.

“We understand that most of our customers rely on their cars for their daily activities and we will do our best to assist,” Zainal Abidin added. — Bernama