Fresh off the back of a solid performance in 2020, during which 220,163 new cars were sold to secure an overall market share of 41.6 percent, Malaysian carmaker Perodua has raised the bar for itself this year. The Rawang-based company has set a 240,000-unit sales target for 2021, with plans to boost production to a record 272,000 units to fulfil growing demand for affordable personal mobility. The last time it sold this many cars was in 2019 (240,341 units). 

Perodua president and CEO Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad believes that 2021 will be a year of recovery, boosted by the government's decision to extend the sales tax exemption until the end of June. In ramping up its sales, Perodua will also give local suppliers a much needed boost with a projected expenditure of RM6.5 billion on locally-sourced components. 

The numbers are truly impressive for a company that hasn't launched a brand new model since the Perodua Aruz made its debut in January 2019. However, talks of Perodua's upcoming compact SUV, which is expected to be largely based on the Toyota Raize/Daihatsu Rocky (below), are expected to finally bear fruit this year. A small crossover that bridges the gap between the ever popular Myvi and the Aruz should be able to deliver the additional 20,000 units Perodua that is looking to sell this year. 

To cope with the higher sales output, Perodua is also expecting to grow its service intake by 20 percent, from 2 million units in 2021 to 2.4 million this year. That adds up to a staggering 200,000 cars being serviced per month. Fascinating...