KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Holdings Bhd's automotive sales surged 63.8 per cent month-on-month (MoM) to 36,358 units in October from 22,193 units sold in September 2021.
The conglomerate said this was mainly backed by continued sales recovery for its subsidiary UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd and associated company Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), following the easing of the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) restrictions.
UMW Toyota posted a 5.8 per cent growth or 8,500 units sold in October compared to 8,033 units delivered in September.
The Vios continues to be Toyota's best-selling model for the month, followed by the Hilux and Yaris.
Year-to-date (YTD) October 2021, UMW Toyota's sales grew 24.7 per cent to 54,618 units from 43,807 units registered in the same period last year.
The Japanese marque has started to diversify its offering in the electrified vehicle space and officially began order-taking for the Corolla Cross hybrid.
The vehicle will be UMW Toyota's first locally-assembled Toyota model with Hybrid Electric Technology in early November.
To refresh its product line-up, UMW Toyota recently announced order-taking for the new updated Hilux, Fortuner and Innova.
Meanwhile, Perodua registered a record-breaking monthly sales of 27,858 units in October, reflecting a significant recovery from the 14,160 units registered in September.
Perodua Myvi was its best seller for the month, followed by the Axia and Bezza.
In terms of production, Perodua saw the highest number of vehicles ever produced within a month at 29,803 units for October.
For the first 10 months of the year, Perodua delivered a total of 146,951 units, 14.5 per cent lower than the 171,861 units registered in the corresponding period of 2020.
This was mainly dragged by the FMCO and partly the semiconductor chips shortage.
President and group chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said UMW group was pleased with the strong recovery demonstrated by both UMW Toyota and Perodua in October.
"The group expects the automotive sales recovery to be sustained through November and December, supported by the introduction of new models and year-end promotions.
"We are thankful to the government for the extension of the sales tax exemption as announced in the recent 2022 Budget, which we believe will continue to hasten the recovery of the local automotive industry," he said in a statement today.
Ahmad Fuuad said incentives proposed for the electric vehicles were expected to promote a greater adoption of electric vehicles in the country.
