Perodua sales show early signs of recovery in August as Malaysian carmaker revises 2021 sales target to 214,000 units 

After a slump in sales in the last few months as business operations came to a halt under Malaysia's most recent lockdown, Perodua is finally seeing early signs of recovery. The local carmaker registered 6,988 vehicles in August which, while not much by its usual standards, was a far cry from the 655 units registered in July. 

This brings the year-to-date total up to 104,933 units, which represents a 12.5 percent drop from the 119,977 vehicles Perodua managed to sell within the same period (January to August) in 2020. Despite the dip, Perodua still remains on track to sell over 200,000 cars by the end of 2021. 

“Based on the time and resources available, we are reducing our sales target by 10.8% to 214,000 units for this year from our earlier target of 240,000 units,” said Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad, president and CEO of Perodua. 

Business restrictions aside, another concern for many carmakers is the global semiconductor shortage. However, Datuk Zainal says that Perodua has secured sufficient semiconductor materials to ensure the smooth resumption of vehicle production and allow the company to fulfil its outstanding orders within the year. 

“For now, the semiconductor chip supply is still a global issue and we are working with our partners and suppliers to limit any disruption it may cause.”