Perodua sets 240k sales target for 2022, 20% increase for a ‘year of recovery’ – much shorter waiting period

Perodua, which is aiming to breach the 200k units sales mark for 2021, is targeting sales of at least 240,000 units in 2022. That’s a 40,000 unit increase, or 20% higher than the expected 200k cars registered in 2021.

President and CEO Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said that the 240k figure is a preliminary estimate and that a more accurate forecast will be shared in late January 2022. He described 2021 is “the most challenging year so far” but 2022 is set to be “a year of recovery” for the market leader.

“We believe that the worst is behind us in terms of Covid-19 related lockdowns, insyallah, and while there are other risks in the market, we foresee the year 2022 as a year of recovery,” he told the media at the 2022 Myvi facelift drive in Johor Bahru.

“In fact, based on current information and forecasts, we foresee that we can at least reach the 240,000 registration target next year as the market stabilises and our waiting period will be reduced significantly,” Zainal added.

Perodua sets 240k sales target for 2022, 20% increase for a ‘year of recovery’ – much shorter waiting period

The P2 chief forecasts that demand for vehicles would peak in the first six months of 2022 as people will want to benefit of the sales tax exemption incentive by the government, while the second half would see demand slow. The SST exemption was first announced in June 2020 as part of the Penjana stimulus package. Originally scheduled to end on December 31 last year, it was first extended to June 30, 2021, and then to December 31, 2021. Now, it’s set to expire on June 30, 2022.

“The 240,000 registration number is important as we want to grow the Malaysian automotive ecosystem. With this growth, we expect to see auto component purchase to be back to around RM6.5 billion for next year. We will share the total number of purchased component parts for this year in January,” Zainal said.

If 240k sounds familiar, that was Perodua’s original sales target for for 2020, before Covid arrived and forced a revision to 210k (eventual sales was 220,163 units). The company set the same target for 2021, but Covid lockdowns and parts supply issues forced P2 to lower it to 214k. That will not be met – Perodua is instead looking to breach the 200k mark. Third time lucky for 240k? The company’s all-time record is 240,341 units, set in 2019.