2009 sales target of Perodua on track to achive

Above about sales target of Perodua.

RAWANG: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is on track to sell 158,000 vehicles this year despite the current economic downturn, says managing director Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar.

For the first-half year, Perodua sold 77,000 units (or 49%) of its 2009 sales target.

“We expect better sales in the second half of the year, especially with the festive season like Hari Raya when sales usually pick up,” he said at the Perodua Kancil phase-out and Viva 660 BX (Basic) line-off ceremony yesterday.

“In November, we will also launch our multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) and we will start accepting bookings from October.”

Syed Hafiz said the impact of the Government’s stimulus package would be more visible in the second half.

He said the low interest rates and strong financial system in Malaysia would make for a conducive environment for buying cars.

“Things are getting better for the local automotive industry,” he said.

Perodua yesterday rolled out its final Kancil, after 15 years of production. Since its launch in August 1994, 722,223 units have been produced and 708,000 units sold in Malaysia.

Syed Hafiz said the phasing out of the Kancil was a long time coming, in light of the technological advancements that were made since the car was introduced.

Initially, an average of 4,000 units were sold monthly. In October 2002, the company registered its highest sales with 7,700 units.

Its best seller now is the Perodua Myvi, which accounts for about 53% of total sales, followed by Viva with 42%. Lately, Kancil averaged monthly sales between 500 and 800 units.

“The compact wonder had a very good run but all good things must come to an end,” Syed Hafiz said.

Perodua also launched its Viva 660 BX (Basic) yesterday, which will be its new entry-level vehicle and the “replacement car” for Kancil.

The new Viva is available in three colours and costs RM25,300 (on-the-road, with insurance) and only available in manual transmission. Syed Hafiz said he was optimistic about the response for the new Viva.

On the Perodua MPV, he hinted that it would be priced between RM56,000 and RM67,000, available in both manual and automatic transmission and powered by a 1.5-litre engine.

The MPV would be targeted at both first-time buyers and “individuals with families,” he said, adding: “It is a car when you want it and an MPV when you need it.”

Popular Mazda mini MPV

Here's about Mazda mini MPV.

In Japan, the Mazda MPV is known, marketed, and sold as the Efini MPV. This vehicle first made its way to public knowledge in 1989. It was constructed to be a rear wheel drive vehicle. Later on in 2000, it came back with a more modern front wheel drive. Originally, the Mazda MPV was designed in its every minute detail as a minivan. This was destined to be sold to the American market.

The Mazda MPV was first constructed using Mazda’s best platform that time. The company used the Mazda 929’s HC to be able to develop and start out the Mazda MPV’s LV platform. Later on in the design and construction process for this vehicle, the Mazda MPV was equipped with a V6 engine and an optional all wheel drive. This vehicle features traditional hinged doors instead of the sliding rear doors.

Making waves with the press, the Mazda MPV then earned its way to being named a part of the Car and Driver magazine’s Ten Best list for two consecutive years – 1990 and 1991. This magazine also featured the Mazda MPV as one of their “vehicles for the coming (fuel) crisis”. However, on the other hand, the Mazda MPV made a big unwanted splash with crash testers. Out of the four stars that a vehicle could receive from the Australian ANCAP crash test, the Mazda MPV only received one little star. As for the American IIHS crash tests, the vehicle received a poor “Marginal” rating. The sales for this vehicle went really well however it rapidly declined come the period when other automobile manufacturers started constructing and introducing to the market all wheel drivers and V6 engines.

In 1996, this vehicle underwent a refreshing. The I4 engine went into retirement and it was replaced with a similar engine – a 2.5 liter unit. Come the year 2000, the Mazda MPV came with a front wheel drive LW platform that was based on the Mazda 626. This set of Mazda MPVs was considered to be the second in this model’s generation. It came this time to be more traditional than the first batch. It held sliding rear doors and a front wheel drive. However, what was different for this generation includes a rear seat that folds flat into the floor and rear door windows that are rolled down. In 2002, the changes for the vehicle included a change in power by using the Mazda AJ 3.0 liter V6 engine along with a 5-speed automatic transmission. This now has the capacity to produce 200 horsepower and 200 pound feet of torque. Other than that, upgrades included a larger grille that sported a single chrome bar at the top, a more aggressive look and new headlights and tail lights.

Mini-MPV from Kia

Above about mini MPV from Kia.

Kia will show off a new mini-MPV concept at Geneva, and this is the first teaser image, which gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect

Kia's Geneva motor show star will be a mini-MPV concept, which previews a new Vauxhall Meriva, Honda Jazz and Nissan Note rival.

The Korean manufacturer has released this teaser, along with some pretty vague information, ahead of the car's unveiling at Geneva in March.

Apparently, Kia reckons that its new MPV will bring "style and cool to what is currently a bland segment of the new car market."

Well, if you're paying Peter Schreyer, the man who designed the Audi TT, to be your chief stylist, then at least you should put him to work occasionally.

The concept is likely to be called the YN for now, but the production version will probably get some outrageous name fitting for the brand that brought us the Cee'd and the Soul.

Talking of the Soul, that car's plaform underpins this new concept too, so expect the YN to be powered by the same competent diesel and weedy petrols as that car.

Exora sales still strong

Above about Exora sales.

The order book for Proton Holdings Bhd’s MPV model, the Exora, is strong at the moment with a backlog of up to three to four months even at a production rate of 3,300 units per month.

Managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed said he thought there was more stability in its distribution.

“Of course it is supported by the Exora … we are very thankful for the support of the Malaysian public,” he told reporters at Invest Malaysia 2009 yesterday.

“So, going forward, as long as we can maintain a very healthy order bank (or book) and continue with what we are doing, such as the cost measures, for example, I think the company will be in a better position.”

Referring to Proton’s recent Master Dealership Agreement with Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd, which was announced on May 8, Syed Zainal said: “By controlling the dealers, we will make the dealers more efficient.

“From an efficiency point of view, our distribution system will be much better, which means maybe margins can be improved and revenue further enhanced.”

He added: “These are the opportunities that we can look forward to, at least for this financial year (ending March 31, 2010).”

However, it was still too early to say if the national carmaker would return to the black this year, he said, adding: “The only thing I can say is that it (the first quarter ended June 30) will be an improvement over the last quarter.”

At present, there were 5,000 Exora MPVs registered in the market with pending orders for about 14,000 vehicles.

On expected developments in new variants of Exora models, he said that having first introduced the automatic model of the MPV to the market, “it was only a matter of time” before Proton introduced a manual model.

He said the manual model could be expected this year.

Proton was also planning to launch the Exora in Jakarta on July 24 at the International Motor Show.

This was an important move for the company, because in the 1½ to two years it had been in the country it only had a small presence in the Indonesian market dominated by MPVs, Syed Zainal said.

On foreign competition to Proton, both locally and overseas, he said: “I think competition is healthy. We have to strategise our plans and others – Toyota and Nissan – would also strategise their plans.

“So, it is something I think we should not be totally worried about.”

This year Proton will focus mainly on the Asean market, including “Singapore,” soon.

Next year, the company will focus on other markets, like the Middle East, and also try to do the CKD (completely knocked-down) assembly in China and other markets.

Apart from Indonesia, the company plans to introduce the Exora to Thailand in November.

Naza confident selling 25 Ferrari this year

Here's about Naza selling 25 Ferrari.

NAZA Italia Sdn Bhd is confident of selling 25 Ferrari units this year, with the bulk of the contribution coming from the newly launched California model.

Its group executive chairman and chief executive officer SM Faisal SM Nasimuddin said the company had secured seven orders for the California model with the first delivery expected within this month.

"We are positive the Ferrari California will be the preferred model for new Ferrari owners," he told reporters at the the launch of the new Ferrari model in Petaling Jaya today.

The new model, with a price tag starting from RM1.7 million, joined Ferrari's eight-cylinder range which is made up mostly of high performance cars, SM Faisal said.

The automotive industry is improving as market sentiment is better than end of last year," he said, adding that many customers had started asking about the new model.

The California model's engine has a total displacement of 4,300cc and a maximum power output of 460hp/338kW at 7,750rpm. It takes less than four seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h and is able to deliver a blistering 310km/h top speed.