No recall on new Myvi, says Perodua boss

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no recall on the new Perodua Myvi or any of our other models, says Perodua president/chief executive officer, Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh.

In a statement today, Aminar Rashid said the news reports were not true.

"There was a suspension in operations for one day at our plant on Aug 26, 2013, as we found some portions of the vehicle did not meet the standards we specified during our normal testing process.

"We have resumed our operations the next day after successfully rectifying the issue," he said.

Aminar Rashid said the reports saying that Perodua stopped production for three days for this reason were inaccurate.

Perodua also higlighted that the plant was on a scheduled shutdown for the company's 20th Anniversary Gala Raya Celebrations over that weekend and was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Gala Raya event was widely covered by the media and was attended by over 28,000 people.

"We do apologise to our customers if this suspension resulted in a slight delay in delivering the vehicle, but the action we take is to ensure that your experience with us is a pleasant one - because here at Perodua - You Matter Most.

"Perodua places great value on quality and even more so on safety in everything that we do," he said.
 -Bernama

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Perodua to introduce cheapest model next year, says PM

RAWANG: Perodua will produce a new model next year that will be the cheapest in the market, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the new model will enable Malaysians to own a car which will have sophisticated and strong safety features.

He said Perodua has invested RM1.3 billion to build a new factory which would be ready next October to produce the new model that would be competitive.

"I hope the factory will help Perodua export more cars, especially to neighbouring countries. Currently, Perodua exported 10,000 units a year and I hope the figure can be increase further," he said at Perodua's Gala Raya, held in conjunction with its 20th anniversary here Saturday.

Najib said Perodua's strategy all along has been to focus on 'niche' market, producing compact quality cars and to find ways to improve quality and reduce production costs.

Currently, Perodua's ecosystem comprised  130,000 vendors and dealers nationwide, he said.

"Considering this big ecosystem, the success of Perodua will not only benefit the 130,000 Malaysians but also the car buyers in the country," he said.

Najib also urged car manufacturers to study the cost structure and business model so that they could be more efficient to compete in a market that has become competitive and more liberalised.

He said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has encouraged the car manufacturers to voluntarily reduce the prices.

"The move is appropriate as we can offer a car price that is competitive and the lower cost can be passed on to the rakyat," he said.

At the same function, which was attended by 20,000 people, Najib also launched a special coffee table book chronicling Perodua's 20-year journey and the company's hope ahead.

 -Bernama

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Perodua's first half-year sales rises 4% to 96,900 units

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua's first half-year sales this year increased four per cent to 96,900 units from 92,900 units in the same period of 2012, driven by the introduction of the S-Series in March.

Perodua's president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said based on the estimated total industry volume of 312,800 vehicles for the first six months, Perodua's market share now stood at 31 per cent.

On a quarter-to quarter comparison, sales were up 4.1 per cent to 50,200 units compared with 48,200 units in the second quarter of 2012.

The S-Series.

However, Aminar said sales in June slowed by 3.7 per cent to 15,800 units from 16,400 units in the same month last year, due to speculation on the reduction of car prices and a tougher market.

"The S-Series has contributed significantly to our sales volume this year to date. The value proposition of these variants is the result of an extensive cost management exercise that began in 2011.

"In terms of total production, as of end-June this year, we produced approximately 102,000 vehicles. We hope to produce 206,700 units by year-end," he told a media briefing here, Wednesday.

Meanwhile, on Perodua's after sales business, Aminar said the compact car company saw 924,000 vehicles frequent its service centres for the first half of the year, up three per cent from the 896,000 intake, in the same period of 2012.

He said Perodua's revenue for the parts and accessories business jumped by 40.2 per cent to RM152.8 million during the period from RM112.6 million previously.

"We believe that once our new parts warehouse in Rawang is fully operational this August, we will be able to further increase our parts distribution capabilities, and thus serve our customers better," he added.

For the second half of the year, Aminar said that Perodua would continue its aggressive marketing strategy and leverage on the popularity of the S-Series to maintain the compact carmaker's sales momentum.

"Baring any unforeseen circumstances, we believe we can achieve the earlier target of 194,000 units by year-end," he added. – Bernama

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Perodua expects more competitive auto business environment

KUALA LUMPUR: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) expects a more challenging business environment with stiffer competition in the country.

“We are maintaining our sales target of 194,000 this year, and whoever takes the top position is irrelevant,” president and CEO Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said in response to a question of Proton being a threat to Perodua.

Up to the end of last month, Perodua had sold about 82,000 units, up 6.5% from 77,000 units in 2012.

Aminar: ‘Competition is good and it pushes everyone to outperform each other.

“This is already post-election, I hope this won't get politicised. If Proton is able to sell more, it will raise the total industrial volume.

“Competition is good and it pushes everyone to outperform each other,” he told a press conference which was called following confusion in the market that Perodua had reduced its on-the-road car prices.

The second national carmaker had clarified that it had reduced the total cost of car ownership for consumers, instead of cutting its retail price directly.

He said the reduced car ownership cost was done with the launch of its S-Series variant across its product range.

“The monetary value we give to our customers for both increased specifications as well as the three-year free service package is worth between RM4,500 and RM5,600,” he said.

“The price reduction was correct but it's not the on-the-road price that was mentioned,” he said.

He said with the new S-Series variant, Perodua had reduced the price by RM2,000, compared to the old variant.

“You should not just look at the reduction but also the total car ownership cost arising from savings from the three-year warranty, and in increase of specifications,” he said.

He said Perodua had achieved an overall reduction in cost of 12%, which was still below its 15% targeted by end of this year.

“This is done via cost reduction activities carried through the entire supply chain including improving efficiency and eliminating wastages,” he said.

Ultimately, he said, Perodua intended to bring its cost down by 30% by 2016.

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Perodua opens second body and paint hub

SERI KEMBANGAN: Perodua has opened its second body and paint hub (B&P hub) in Balakong, Seri Kembangan - after the Subang hub - to better serve its customers in the Southern part of the Klang valley .

“With the inception of centres such as these, customers are provided with an avenue to repair and restore their vehicles," said Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh at the recent opening ceremony of the B&P hub in Balakong.

The RM2.2 million Perodua B&P Hub is a specialised facility offering heavy repair works for its vehicles as well as paint services for those who want a brand new coat for their Perodua vehicles, particularly for vehicles involved in collisions.

Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh (centre), G. Balasundram who is Perodua Balakong B&P manager (right), and Perodua assistant regional manager of service operations Muhd Nazrin Muhd Nor observing a mechanic polishing a customer's car.

The new B&P hub is equipped with four bays, which can repair up to 130 Perodua cars each month.

The hub also has three specialised 'ovens' that can service 130 paint jobs per month.

"The Perodua Balakong B&P Hub is another milestone for Perodua because the new centre is a testament to our commitment to give a holistic service to our customers, which ranges from manufacturing to major repairs and paint services," said Aminar.

He added that aside from quality workmanship, the Perodua B&P hub also offers genuine spare parts.

Aminar said the compact car company was also looking at setting up more B&P Hubs at other locations, to better serve its customers.


Perodua has sold over 2.2 million vehicles since its inception in 1993.

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Perodua sees growth spurt

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua is on track to achieve its target sales of 194,000 cars this year, following strong sales growth in the first four months of 2013.

The company's president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said about 64,400 Perodua cars were sold from January till end-April, which translated into a 9% year-on-year sales increase.

"Barring unforeseen circumstances, we are cautiously optimistic about achieving our 2013 sales target. The automotive market is still strong, and the country's total automotive industry volume (TIV) should hit 640,000 units this year, as per the forecast by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA)," said Aminar at the Royale Chulan Hotel.

Aminar (standing fourth from left) with Perodua management and representatives from the institutions of higher learning at the mock cheque presentation ceremony for the fifth edition of the Perodua Eco-Challenge.

Aminar was attending a mock cheque presentation ceremony for the fifth edition of the Perodua Eco-Challenge, where students from selected institutions of higher learning are challenged in applying their knowledge and skills in the arenas of automotive engineering and marketing.

Aminar noted that before the recently held General Election, car buyers had adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

In a statement, he also said Perodua had given its inputs for the revision of the National Automotive Policy (NAP) which is expected to be announced in the near future.

“As one of the largest local carmakers, Perodua sees great value in a gradual liberalisation and this will also help us in being prepared for when the market fully opens,” said Aminar.

According to Perodua, it has developed and given business opportunities to about 109 local vendors 272 local sales as well as service dealers and other service providers.

“The result of this extended eco-system - Perodua has sold some 2.2 million vehicles over our 20-year history,” said Aminar.

He added that local automotive vendors also benefit, as Perodua is buying RM4bil in parts this year.

On Perodua’s efforts to further reduce its prices, Aminar said that the recently launched S Series was a good example of how the company would bring down the cost of ownership for its customers.

“We are not only repositioning the price downwards, we added more features and give a three-year free service to not just the S-series but to all our models. The value we bring to the customers ranges from RM4,500 to RM5,600,” he said.

“We will continue to produce and market affordable vehicles with quality taking into consideration the total cost of ownership. Our most affordable variant is priced at RM25,000 - the lowest in the country,” said Aminar.

Meanwhile, the total prize money in the Perodua Eco-Challenge 2013 has been increased to RM127,000 compared with RM103,000 last year.

Institutions participating in this year's Eco-Challenge include Universiti Selangor, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Politeknik Ungku Omar.

Participating teams will need to redesign a Perodua Myvi, for body styling enhancements and better fuel efficiency.

The categories include "Long Distance", "Engineering", "Time Attack", "Marketing Challenge" and "Overall Champion".

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Perodua tailors package for teachers

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua is introducing a package tailored for teachers in ts effort to boost sales.

It is offering a rebate of RM1,000, a personal accident insurance plan worth RM20,000, and hire purchase rates from as low as 2.7 per cent from participating banks.

In a statement on Monday, Perodua said the  "Terima Kasih, Cikgu" package is effective from May 16-Nov 15 and valid for all Perodua variants, including the S series.

Teacher's Day falls on May 16.

Perodua said the package is open to all teachers and lecturers from both public and private institutions of learning.

"Early birds who book their vehicles between May 16 and May 31 are entitled to a RM200 petrol gift card," said Perodua president and CEO Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh.

 -Bernama

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Perodua promises global standards when new plant opens

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua says its new factory in Rawang will start production by mid-2014.

The RM790mil plant is expected to have annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles on a single shift, said managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh in a statement.

"So far, everything is on schedule and Perodua will start hiring 1,200 people soon.

"With the completion of the plant, the entire group would be poised to improve its quality, efficiency, productivity and cost management to global standards," he said.

He said the plant would house the country's most advanced automation, robotics, machinery and equipment as well as human capital development system.

"With the support of our partner Daihatsu Motor Co, the plant will be a role model for the entire Perodua group in terms of overall operation and approach," said Aminar Rashid.

He said in line with its vision to become a global company, the group is set to spend RM2.3bil in capital expenditure up to 2018 to upgrade all its operations.

The new plant, the second for Perodua, has a built-up area of 65,000 sq m and a paid-up capital of RM200mil with an authorised capital of RM500mil.

 -Bernama

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Perodua launches value-for-money S-Series

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua today launched its value-for-money "S-Series" with three new variants for Viva, Myvi and Alza.

Its managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the group aimed to achieve sales of 7,500 units of the S-Series monthly in the domestic market.

"We need to produce more value-added products in order to remain relevant in the market and the introduction of the S-Series will further boost our sales," he told reporters before the launch of the S-Series today.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin later launched the S-Series after laying the first foundation stone for Perodua's new RM790 million factory.

Aminar Rashid said the launch of the new variants would contribute towards achieving the car maker's 194,000 sales target this year, and account for some 45 per cent of its total sales units this year.

"We have worked diligently to further improve our efficiency and transfer whatever savings we earn to our customers, in line with the government's call to give greater value in our products and services.

"It is our cost reduction process that we have been practising for the past two years that allows us to produce more value-added products without increasing the car price," he said.

He added that it was due this practice that it managed to offer customers a value average of RM4,500 per unit for the S-Series.

"The S-Series will offer overall total value of ownership with additional features at no additional cost to customers," he said.

On market share, he hoped that Perodua would maintain its market share of 30 per cent in the local market this year.

In conjunction with the launch, Perodua will also offer three years free service for all models registered after March 15, 2013.

The S-Series variants will be available at Perodua showrooms from March 14 onwards.

The Viva S 1.0L is priced at RM34,774.30 (AT, solid) and comes with power steering, seat height adjuster, seat under tray, seat back pocket, vanity mirror and an MP3 & WMA (Windows Media Audio) player and is currently the most affordable automatic car in the country.

Meanwhile, the Myvi 1.3 SE is priced at RM44,924.30 (MT, solid) and RM47,924.30 (AT, solid).

Among the features available are the special edition bumper, side skirting and rear spoiler.

The Alza S 1.5L is priced at RM53,517.00 (MT, solid) and RM56,517.00 (AT, solid).

These variants comes standard with rear spoilers, fog lamps and silver paint interior finish as well as chrome inner door handles.

The S-Series come in all current Perodua vehicle colours as well as its signature “Ozzy Orange”.

Perodua also announced that all its vehicles registered from March 15 onwards will enjoy a three-year free service at any of its service outlets throughout the country.

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Keep rates attractive, Perodua urges banks

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua, which aims to sell 194,000 cars this year, hopes that the overnight policy rate (OPR), currently at three per cent, will continue to be maintained.

Managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said people could afford to buy a vehicle if the OPR were to remain at the current level.

"We still need the support of the banks and we hope they will continue to support us," he said here today.

Aminar Rashid was asked whether Perodua has plan to set up a financial unit to cater to the needs of its customers at the company's Chinese New Year luncheon.

He said he was not aware of the vendor-sharing programme by the government involving two other carmakers.

A local daily, citing sources, said the government would discuss the potential of joint cooperation between Daihatsu, Perodua and Proton on the programme.

He said, however, Perodua was receptive to any discussion on the matter as it has five-year strategic roadmap which also included vendor improvement.

"If there's any programme outside our roadmap which could help local vendors, we are ready to discuss it," he said.
 -Bernama

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74,000 new Myvis recalled to fix power steering issue

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua is undertaking a preventive measure campaign to replace the electronic power steering column (EPS) in 74,000 new Myvi variants produced between March 2011 and March 2012.

The compact car maker said this was to ensure that owners of the new Myvi enjoy optimum performance from their vehicle.

Managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the campaign was necessary as the car’s performance may not be at its best and could partially compromise the driver’s response time at low speeds.

“Based on studies conducted by Perodua, the problem could be detected when the EPS indicator is alight, after which, the driver could feel a slight heaviness at speeds of between 30 and 40 km per hour.

“This can be temporarily fixed by switching off the engine and restarting the car but, for a permanent fix and to eliminate any possibility of risk to our customers, we kindly request them to make an appointment at any of our 170 service centres, nationwide, for the replacement of the EPS column,” he said in a statement.

Aminar said the car company had already issued notification letters to the affected customers and Perodua would absorb all costs for the replacement of the EPS column.

The campaign time frame is open ended. However, customers are encouraged to make an appointment as soon as it was convenient for them to ensure that the replacement can be done orderly and smoothly. - Bernama

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Perodua retains forte but mum on sedan rumours

KUALA LUMPUR: Perodua will retain its compact car segment based on its strength, said managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh.

“Whether it’s within or outside the country, the demand for compact cars is still high due to fuel-efficiency and low-carbon emissions in view of the high fuel price and efforts to promote a better environment,” he said.

The Myvi remains Perodua's bestseller.

On integrating hybrid technology into its new vehicles, Aminar Rashid said Perodua was not on that path because it was costly.

Cost would be an issue to Perodua and potential customers and the company would lose its “affordable-to-own” edge, he said, adding: “The existing internal combustion engine of our compact cars can compete and even be better than hybrid engines.”

On the possibility of advancing to the sedan segment, Aminar Rashid said feasibility studies were needed to see whether there was a demand for the vehicles.

Perodua’s current sales ratio was 5:3:2 for Myvi, Viva and Alza, respectively, he noted. — Bernama

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Perodua plans to fast track overseas presence

Being number one is not easy. Because when you're at the top, there's only one way to go down!

In the case of local car manufacturer Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), it has fought hard to maintain its number one position at the top of the total industry volume (TIV) heap for quite some time now.

But as its managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said last week during a media briefing, the car company has to do more than just being a jaguh kampung (village champion).

Aminar says Perodua has a five-year roadmap that 
will boost the company's competitiveness.

This is especially pertinent with the Government's call to liberalise the local automotive sector.

With various policies and initiatives in place, especially those to be announced under the revised National Automotive Policy (NAP), Malaysia is set to become a more vibrant and attractive place to do business.

One such policy which the Government is said to be quite serious about is the initiative to turn Malaysia into an energy efficient vehicle (EEV) hub.

This simply means that the doors will now be opened for more foreign participation, which will inevitably raise the bar in terms of competitiveness for local players.

Based on reports, leading the way to make Malaysia their operational base are a number of China-based automotive companies, which are said to be quite keen to tie up with local players and fast track their presence here.

EEVs are vehicles that meet a set of defined specifications in terms of emission levels and energy usage, including fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and alternatively fuelled vehicles such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen and fuel cell.

Unless something is done soon, the piece of the profit pie is going to get smaller for Perodua. As a compact car manufacturer, it has the advantage of selling cheap cars that are fuel efficient, but this could be impinged upon by the
entrance of new EEV players into the market.

At the briefing last week, Aminar pointed out that a new model had already been introduced to the market very recently and was directly competing with Perodua's best-seller, the Myvi.

Industry observers know this new model to be the Mitsubishi Mirage, which is priced from around RM55,000.

Fortunately, Perodua is not resting on its laurels, and has already put in place a five-year roadmap that will outline its growth strategy all in an effort to boost competitiveness.

While the roadmap details various strategies, one of the biggest emphasis moving forward for Perodua is boosting its export business.

Indeed, while there is still growth in the domestic automotive market the Malaysian Automotive Institute has projected TIV to grow to one million units in 2020 it is in the foreign market that the real opportunities lie.

Perodua currently exports its vehicles to seven countries, namely, Singapore, Brunei, Mauritius, Fiji, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Nepal. It also exports its Myvi model to Indonesia under the Daihatsu Sirion badge.

Japan's Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd has a 20% stake in Perodua.

According to Aminar, Perodua has projected to sell 10,000 vehicles overseas this year, a figure it intends to double to 20,000 units by 2015.

It had already announced last week plans to ramp up its production capacity, namely, the setting up of a new plant adjacent to its present one in Rawang which will see it boost its capacity by at least 50%.

The new plant will be able to produce 100,000 vehicles yearly on a one-shift cycle while the existing plant is able to produce 200,000 units per annum on a two-shift cycle.

But being able to penetrate overseas markets is more than just ramping up production capacity. The car company needs to make its products more exciting and recognisable to customers globally.

Fortunately, it has a strong partner in Daihatsu. The Japanese company has a strong and proven track record that can help Perodua fast-track its overseas presence.

Its five-year roadmap would do well to address this issue, definitely, on how to penetrate foreign markets and become more than just a “village champion”.

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