Toyota aims to overtake Honda in sales this year and reclaim the No.1 non-national spot from its Japanese counterpart. The mission was stated in UMW Holdings Berhad’s corporate presentation that was released this month. The conglomerate is the majority shareholder in UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT), the importer and distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Malaysia.
The mission to “reclaim market leadership in the non-national segment” will be supported by the launch of new models. Earlier this month, UMWT unveiled the Fortuner facelift and Innova facelift, with the Corolla Cross C-segment SUV to follow in the second quarter of the year. There will also be a new sedan and another “GR model”, both of which will be unveiled in Q4 2021.
The presentation slide also reveals that UMWT plans to “secure new CKD models for C-segment and commercial” this year. The C-segment model set to be locally assembled should be the Corolla Cross, which debut in Thailand mid 2020. The company is also looking at the “introduction of more CKD hybrid vehicles moving forward”. The Corolla Cross has a hybrid variant, so the Corolla Cross Hybrid – a conventional non-plug-in hybrid – is a candidate for local assembly.
New products aside, UMWT will look to its in-house Toyota Capital and banks for “innovative financing packages” as an avenue for growth. Other channels identified include e-commerce, where Toyota plans to introduce its own platform to complement the existing official stores on Lazada and Shopee. The company also intends to widen its customer base, with government fleet sales and pre-owned vehicles identified as potential growth areas.
Back to Toyota’s 2021 mission, which is to reclaim the No.1 non-national make title from Honda. The goal is expected, as there aren’t many markets in the world, if at all, that Honda sits above Toyota, the world’s top-selling carmaker.
Honda has been the top-selling foreign make in Malaysia since 2015, when it overtook Toyota for the first time ever. It then went on to achieve 109,511 units in 2017, the highest annual total ever for a non-national brand in Malaysia.
While it just about retained the No.1 non-national spot last year, Honda’s 60,468 units sold in 2020 was its lowest since the days that it was duelling with Nissan (2013). Meanwhile, Toyota sold 58,501 units last year, a smaller drop compared to Honda. Since losing out to Honda in 2015, Toyota experienced a sharp decline and sales had settled in the 60-70k band ever since, save for 2020’s small dip. As they finished neck-to-neck in 2020, it’s all to play for this year – may the best Japanese team win!
Did you know that Honda used to duel with Nissan in sales while Toyota was on a different plane altogether, regularly posting sales above 100k units? Follow us as we track the ups and downs of Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda over the past decade, and see where are they now.
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PT still avoid showing the Lemon car case news as article here, or at least highlight the need for Lemon car law just like what Singapore did.
I thought you guys always defend car buyers’ right as public awareness, no ?
But definitely not this brand. Even some of brands in here were also not affected too, despite all brands all not 100% perfect
Perodua is Toyota. Toyota is Perodua, NO.1
perodua is not toyota, perodua is junk
Sure Truth. I’m sure that’s why Perodua’s at the top spot for, what, 15 years in the row?
This is not even lemon law. Better try yourself bro.
Obviously, Toyota cars got good RV. No doubt.
Good RV is only one aspect of car buying decision.
The most important aspect is affordability and giving of skeleton specs at premium pricing which is a big letdown from UMW,a GLC.
UMW can talk 3 talk 4,rakyat not enchanted anymore.Come down to ground zero with realistic pricing.Then the sales will overtake Honda malaysia.
Affordability, yes. But I disagree with you that specs is not longer a skeleton and not putting higher price. They are willing to change. That’s why today, customers no longer complaining vs in the past time before took sales by Honda
Specs – Good
Affordability – Good
Well done Toyota Malaysia
Altis lost to Civic (period)
Vios lost to City (last-gen)
CHR lost to HRV (last-gen)
Rush neck-to-neck BRV
Vios facelift vs all-new City (yet to see)
Corolla Cross vs all-new HRV (yet to see)
Toyota not steady. Resale tampered by huge upfront discount. So people flocking to Honda in the last few years
Rush cannot sell because Toyota shot their foot by allowing Perodua to rebadge it as Aruz. With the significant price difference who with the right mind would buy Rush over Aruz?
Toyota did not lost the battle, as smart consumers are looking for cheaper price, same / similar reliable engine, tax incentives and buy P2 cars.
If Toyota + P2 sales included, no horse runaway.. Honda is top non national car here as sales are only supported by boleh man.. If global or worldwide sales, Honda is 3rd / 4th Japanese automotive companies after Toyota, Nissan, equal Madza or 4th place. Please seek uncle Google help.
Only in boleh land and lol by boleh man.
Overseas standard are much better in Toyota even though now Honda ckd quality is declining
Toyota cars after 5 years average depreciation 39.40%.
Honda cars after 5 years average depreciation 34.33%.
Totally agreed. Perhaps it’s because they have started featuring more Proton articles that they have dialed things back a bit.
Spells “bias” to me.
Toyota loses to Honda in 2015, because most of toyota models doesn’t come with VSC with 2 airbags. As well as lacking technology which usually old UMWT always does that, which customers complains about that
And now with active safety features with ADAS as well as giving more features for latest toyota vehicles, especially with better quality and more aftersales service in which finally new UMWT listens to our customers. So while honda quality like city owners finding complaints about interior lemon quality and poor NVH recently and bad aftersales service and also lacking AEB like for low-mid spec City variants. It will be most probably challenge between Toyota and Honda.
Sales are now challenging between Toyota and Honda.
Exactly.
dont forget somebody inside screwed Toyota because of Vios zinc roof noise when raining. that factor alone pushed all Vios sales to Honda camp, about the same time launched all new 4th gen City.
Not really! It doesn’t have this type of problems about zinc noise for Vios
In short. Toyota was stingy to offer techs earlier. Design is boring and try to counter with upfront discounts. Resale deeply affected. Now restarting over
Congratulations to Toyota and Honda
Attractive Malaysia Top4
Start with rip off UMW then
Old UMWT have already rip off. But with New UMWT, things are getting more different that took place in 2017
corolla cross may prove to be a turning point if it is priced right
Toyota’s engine itself is already not competitive and has no turbo. Toyota keep reusing the old engines over and over again and facelift old cars like the innova with an underpowered engine.
i don’t see toyota overtaking Honda in the near future unless toyota is willing to take a drastic change in introducing new techs to their cars.
Wow, so many butthurt honda fans here
Actually, you see why? Last time, toyota fanboys used to be bad. Sales are weaker but yet bashing against kimchi. I remember that. But when sales are getting weaker. It starts to change a lot. Management also changed. Giving more features and newer engines after keeping on asking about “Why No Stability Control and Why keeping giving us 2 airbags” and “Why design getting boring and why old engines”. That’s why management have improved and also affecting their sales. But now, you see honda fanboys are getting more jealous about this article. Probably, honda needs to step up its game rather than fighting as one of here because quality is getting weaker and aftersales service is getting weak. All honda fanboys know is concentrating about engines. But what about safety, features and design, this is also important for us when buying new cars.
Easy. If Honda give 1.5 turbo, just give us almost/equivalent engine. Honda uses standard engine (with different tuning) for Civic, Accord, CR-V. This is very smart move. Do not give us (Malaysian/Asian) different engine than the rest of the world. Malaysian (and Malaysian only) buy Civic with 16x hp instead of Corolla with 13x hp. You could easily give the 2.0 engine in the Corolla AND JUST GIVE US THE CVT WITH PHYSICAL FIRST GEAR like US/Europe get. If you’re discriminating us, you will get the punishment, and owh, its already happening. How much have u sold Corolla vs Civic? And start using TSS2.0 at least, instead of TSS-C or TSS-P which are already outdated. Even YS Khong has simplifies that all these 3 are similar. THEY ARE NOT!
Toyota should stop wasting money to make different design in a line-up. Asian’s Corolla has different design (external) than American. You have so many engine in a line-up too. You have 1.6 in Indonesia, 1.8 in Malaysia that is VERY OLD. In US, you can give them the Dynamic Force engine. In a Corolla. Apa kau ingat kami tak mampu ke? Bila Elon Musk announce Tesla have the highest value than Toyota, kau sentap!!!
TSS-C and TSS-P are not already outdated yet, which is still quite new
yes you can, if you can beat jazz, brv, city, civic, hrv, crv sales. you already has hilux as advantage. so please do more proper exterior design, full led, not just to high end model. you have to make customer feel luxurious in entry level car. as example, vios with full led, electric parking brake, new digital meter cluster. basically its all about design design design. why city stole vios spot for many years? its not the engine, its design.
So another GR model: Yaris GR Sport/Corolla GR Sport, Camry GR Sport/GR86. Hmm…
GR is synonym with the M sticker now? Every car is a GR, S, M, R spec these days. Whatever happened to actual performance to earn a tiny sticker? Nowadays getting a random bodykit is a new spec.. so lame.
Seriously? But Toyota got upgrade performance: suspension, gearbox and ECU tuned engine
today’s trend is SUV, and malaysia is also following suit to this trend. so far the only unibody SUV from Toyota selling here is Rav4, steep price >150k does not sell well. Meanwhile over at Honda showroom they have CR-V, BR-V & HR-V all priced <150k. How can possibly Toyota beat Honda? See the logic?
and since Corolla Cross is meant to replace C-HR, I dont think the price will be as attractive as Honda's range.
Wow u so butthurt?? So kesian bro. And you also think so meh. They won’t silly put wrong price bro
maybe Toyota can introduce Vios GR-S with Yaris GR engine(1.6L turbo. 3cyl FWD)..so it is unique spec compare to J, E or G variant.
UMW Toyota finally coming out from the cave.
…and will go back into the cave again later. engine outdated, tech all so outdated. and current vios is recycled from last gen. what a joke.
According from UMWT ad, more technology and features are coming.
Toyota sell the most car in the world with their RELIABLE engine..
toyota wanna win the market share?
Simple la. Kasi up your product quality, and lower your profit margin.
In other words, give your customers more “value for money”.
Product quality is still quite good with better value of money bro. I am buyer but toyota had did quite good job so far. So it doesn’t mean that profit will go down because of pandemic but once vaccination started, profits will go up.
in your dreams toyota.
unless you produce turbo engine for altis and CKD it please.
same goes for camry, harrier.
it is no brainer a car without turbo engine nowadays. where is the fun?
Please support any other brand that offer turbo, honda, mazda, vw, proton, peugoet (but peugeot need to improve its after sales reputation)
But slowly everyone wants to drive NA cars because of reliability. Turbo cars have disadvantage but not all of them. And also soon, all car brands are moving on to hybrid/electric cars
Moral of the story of losing to Honda: don’t short change your customer by treating them like an idiot, selling something with lowest safety but highest in price!
UMWT have already learn their lesson, so they won’t do that anymore
making this a target only after seeing the 2 sales graph lines converging keke? It would be more meaningful if similar target is set in 2017/2018 time!!!
Because during 2017-2020 their marketing department was more interested to troll websites, reviewers, forums, FB, and all other social medias to paint a bad image on their competitors particularly Proton. When comes turn to promo their cars all they could do is organise meaningless one make races by amateurs and dorifto video adverts. Did they learn their lessons? Judging from the unabated whacking of their competitors here til today, I would say no inspite of their marketing talk above.
Honda fanboys also painting their bad image but not toyota fanboys fault. But yeah, P2 fanboys also their fault for painting their image but didn’t see much bashing much
Hmm….it might exceed 2017/2018 target
late responding to the game better than not responding at all, but I personally think that by replicating what Honda did to win the game back then when they introduced the HRV could prone to be very challenging now in today’s market. let’s see. More competitions which means we get better quality/spec product in this relatively small market, which is good for us.
Toyota needs to offer more attractive package with competitive price. Change the exterior design too.
Honda needs to maintain the quality and after sales service. Do not take it for granted.
Toyota lost to Honda mainly lack of affordable suv line up. Now Honda feeling the heat from x50 and x70, sales drop.
So,Toyota you say can take over Honda this year. Come on laaa, why not compete your target with your glory number in 2012.
Bold claims from Toyota but if anyone can do it, Toyota will be it. My only beef is with Perodua and Proton. Give every player the same incentives and watch who is the real deal out there. Those closed doors discussion has to stop.
Everything has changed but now this is the next stages, fighting wars between Toyota and Honda. Hmm…really interesting
Toyota in msia is boring. Sleeping giant
So, the new Harrier not coming to Malaysia this year?
Also, saw the current Harrier no longer listed on the Toyota website.
Its with the design. period. Everything else is about the same. The only nice looking toyota is the chr