Perodua has snatched the runner-up spot from Honda in 2024, and currently only lags behind the almighty Toyota for the annual ASEAN sales crown.
In what is likely the ultimate testament to how popular Perodua is in Malaysia, the automaker has recently announced that it has become the second best-selling automaker in the whole of ASEAN.
Despite its sales predominantly coming from just its home market, plucky Perodua has actually snatched the runner up spot in the annual ASEAN car sales ranking from Honda last year. A whopping 358,100 cars from the Malaysian automaker were registered across South East Asia in the last 12 months, with this figure besting what the big H achieved by over 55,000.
Now the only other automaker that currently stands in Perodua’s way to the ASEAN sales crown is meanwhile Toyota. Though it does seem unlikely that the Malaysian marque will ever actually come close to toppling the almighty big T for the title, as the Japanese giant pretty much produced double the amount of cars Perodua did last year.
It is nevertheless interesting to note though that Perodua was to be the only two automakers (Mitsubishi being the other) in the top 10 to experience an increase in registrations in 2024. The Malaysian automaker’s 358,100 unit registration figure last year represented a decent year-on-year increase of 8.4% from the year before, with it also incidentally further growing its local market share by 2.5% to 43.8% in the last 12 months.
Another achievement of Perodua’s last year that is worthy of a mention too is for it to have churned out 368,100 vehicles made in 2024. This is noteworthy not just because it is up 7.2% from the 343,400 units it manufactured the year prior, but more so from the fact that it is 11.5% more than the stated 320,000-capacity for both its plants.
“The 368,100-unit record was achieved by minimising downtime, keeping to the maintenance schedule, dynamic planning and coordination between our vendors and dealers and being agile in overcoming challenges,” proclaimed Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.
Moving forward meanwhile, Perodua has announced that it is aiming to increase its capital expenditure to RM1.6 billion this year. The biggest chunk of the investment is currently reserved for plant improvements, increase stamping capacity, new model development and tooling.
“The RM1.6 billion amount more than doubles the RM 797.5 million CAPEX in 2024 as we reinvest in our capabilities. These investments will consolidate manufacturing capacity, including at our vendors, level up service quality and productivity and solidify R&D product planning and new model development capabilities,” said Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.
He said the year 2025 will be Perodua’s springboard for its future with emphasis on self-reliance in terms of production capabilities, especially in developing future products. Dato’ Sri Zainal further emphasised that the automaker is currently accelerating its people’s capabilities to achieve greater self-reliance but this will result in lower production and sales this year, which will likely bear fruit in its first EV that is set to launch later this year.
“For 2025, we foresee our production numbers declining 4.9% to 350,000 units from 368,100 units made in 2024. This reduction would see registration slowing by 3.7% to 345,000 units from 358,102 units last year. Despite our planned slowdown in production and sales, demand for our vehicles remains healthy with current outstanding booking at 68,000 units, of which 28,000 bookings have letters of undertaking issued without stock,” Dato’ Sri Zainal added.
As for Perodua’s aftersales business, Dato’ Sri Zainal said the company is expected to further improve its intake volume this year to 3.7 million vehicles, up 7.6% from the 3.4 million intakes recorded in 2024.
Dato’ Sri Zainal also has since reiterated that Perodua will continue to support the country’s automotive ecosystem with an estimated local component purchase of RM 10.8 billion from Malaysian vendors.“In addition to auto component purchase, we are working closely with the government to further enhance our vendors’ and dealers’ capabilities so that they can remain competitive in this industry.
“This include further exploring Industry 4.0’s potential in maximising efficiencies within their operations, conduct training and provide other assistance for sustainable growth,” Dato’ Sri Zainal said.
“The year 2025 will be an exciting time for us as we prepare ourselves and our partners for the changes that are coming. We believe when these changes are completed, we would be able to further strengthen our current position in this country and this region,” he concluded.
