Perodua is confident it can capture a bigger slice of the domestic market with the launch of its first new affordable multipurpose vehicle, a top official said on Nov. 23.
Perodua overtook national maker Proton in 2006 as the biggest-selling carmaker in the country and captured a market share of 31.1% for the first 10 months of this year.
Malaysia is Southeast Asia's biggest passenger car market with annual sales estimated at 500,000 in 2009.
"We are definitely number one again this year," Perodua managing director Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar told reporters as he forecast the firm to report a record 31.5% market share for the whole year.
Hafiz said Perodua was confident of increasing sales next year with the launch of its first seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle, the Alza model.
"Next year we will probably get 33.3% based on the three strong models (we have) because now with only two cars, we are already selling so many," he said.
Japanese small-car maker Daihatsu Motor, a subsidiary of Toyota, owns a 51% stake in Perodua which has produced a series of attractive models well suited to the Malaysian market.
Hafiz said Perodua is targeting 176,000 units next year, which will be its highest ever sale and up from an estimated 164,000 this year.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
