The car showrooms in Subang Jaya, Damansara and Section 19 are void of human patronage, its been empty from beginning of June until today. We are talking about Toyota but the scene is no different with other vehicle brand as the Movement Control Order imposed by the government has yet o be lifted. These imposition has severely impacted all manufactures with most recording a massive drop in sales, as for UMW Toyota Motor the sales of their marque brand was a mere 85 unit for the month.
Its total vehicles sales including Perodua was 1,921 units and expects the prolonged lockdown will continue to weigh in on sales and expects July tp be another tough month. Luckily, the alternatives of online showrooms are proving to be a bright spot for the company, the Toyota, Lexus and Perodua online showrooms are gaining traction as consumers are gradually moving towards e-platforms during the lockdown phase.
UMW Holdings Berhad’s President and Group CEO, Dato’ Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said, “To offset the absence of walk-in customers due to closures, both UMWT and Perodua have no alternative but to pivot to online marketing and sales. Currently, both marques have a healthy level of outstanding bookings that can be fulfilled once lockdown restrictions are eased. We are also appreciative of the government’s extension of the sales tax exemption to end December this year which will hopefully hasten the recovery. UMW will ramp up production and operations once the lockdowns are lifted.
The group also indicates the lockdown has also adversely impacted the entire supply chain in the automotive sector, especially components manufacturing. Consequently, the exports of automotive components have also been affected, disrupting Toyota’s global supply chain.
However, the Group CEO remains hopeful that the lockdown restrictions will be eased and is working on vaccinating all employees, suppliers and dealers are vaccinated progressively. On outlook, the group remains confident of the growth potential for the automotive industry in Malaysia, it recently announced it will be investing RM270 million into local manufacturing of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in a move to advance its carbon neutrality initiative as well as to offer customers a wider range of vehicles, including technically advanced HEV.
Barring continued lockdown and prolonged disruption in the global semiconductor chips, UMW expects the automotive sales momentum to continue, especially with the extension of the sales tax exemption.
