PETALING JAYA: Riding on last year’s explosive sales and boosted by continued festive sales, car companies are looking to further accelerate competition.
Things are certainly looking good as total domestic industry sales recorded an 11% year-on-year increase, reaching a record high of 799,731 units in 2023.
According to the Malaysian Automobile Association, this is higher than the 2022 sales of 721,177 units.
As it stands, several companies are reporting longer wait times for certain popular models, taking up to six months.
National carmaker Proton Holdings said the popular local brand saw a 9% improvement in bookings and a 9.3% increase in sales last year.
The company said this “positive situation” has spilled over into early 2024, with January sales up 1.3% over the busy December financial month.
Proton Deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah said the company expects the positive sales trend to continue, with sales increasing during the Lunar New Year festive season.
“2024 is off to a strong start. Traditionally, the first few months of a calendar year result in lower sales compared to December of the previous year, but automakers typically look forward to 2024 on a strong footing. We will strive to sell as many vehicles as possible in order to finish the project.”
“We are working hard to meet bookings for high-demand models like the Proton Saga and the all-new Proton S70,” he said, adding that the Proton X50 and X70 models continue to dominate their respective market segments. I emphasized that.
Roslan said the Proton Saga and Proton Persona models experienced strong year-on-year growth through the end of 2023, with Saga sales up 25.6% and Persona 48.9%.
“Looking to the future, we are confident that we will achieve our volume targets and achieve our sixth consecutive year of sales growth in 2024.
“This is as we continue to focus on driving an intelligent model lineup and working to meet customer expectations at every level of the business,” he said, adding that S70 buyers will be able to purchase up to three Regarding variations and colors, adding that there may be a month’s waiting time.
Mazda officials noted that the company sold 19,124 vehicles last year, and expect sales to continue on an upward trend for the remainder of 2024, following a 30% increase in sales last year. He said there was.
A representative from Bermaz Auto Bhd, Mazda’s franchise holder in Malaysia, said: “We expect this trend to continue throughout the year, including during the Christmas period.”
The official said the facelifted Mazda CX-5 IPM6 2024 is sparking renewed interest in the popular sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment and is expected to be a hit among customers.
Honda Malaysia also launched the latest 6th generation CR-V, which claims to be the ultimate SUV, in mid-December and got off to a strong start.
Bookings for the four CR-V models are increasing, with interest in Honda’s first CR-V hybrid model, the CR-V 2.0L e:HEV RS priced at RM195,900 (excluding insurance). .
Honda Malaysia’s Reunite in Prosperity promotion for February 2024 offers up to RM30,000 off on Accord.
After ending 2023 on a strong note, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd aims to do even better in 2024.
Company president Datuk Ravindran K said the brand sold 108,107 units last year, a 7% increase in sales.
Ravindran said the automaker will focus on xEV (electric vehicle and extended versions) technology and introduce more models.
“With this, we further strengthen our commitment to support Malaysia’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” he said.