KUALA LUMPUR, May 30- Second national carmaker Perodua has welcomed the government’s recent announcement to reduce vehicle prices until 2017, saying it would give the automotive eco-sysytem time to adjust.
“In fact we have been engaged with the government, through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and Malaysia (MITI) and Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) over the last two years, in giving our inputs for the revision of the National Automotive Policy (NAP) which we understand will be announced in due course,” President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said in a statement today.
He said the gradual reduction would allow the automotive eco-system, which includes manufacturers, vendors, authorised dealers, the used car market, consumers and other stakeholders, much needed time to adjust.
“As one of the largest local carmakers, Perodua sees great value in a gradual liberalisation and this will also help us in being prepared for when the market fully opens,” he said.
On Perodua’s efforts to further reduce its prices, Aminar Rashid said the recently launched S Series is a good example of how the company would bring down the cost of ownership for its customers.
“We are not only repositioning the price downwards, we added more features and give a three-year free service to not just the S-series but to all our models.
“The value we bring to the customers ranges from RM4,500 to RM5,600,” he said.
Aminar Rashid said the company will continue to produce market-affordable vehicles with quality taking into consideration the total cost of ownership.
“Our most affordable variant is priced at RM25,000 – the lowest in the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, MAI Chief Executive Officer Madani Sahari, on the sidelines of the “Business Time Insight – The National Automotive Policy” forum, said Perodua is one of the car manufacturers that has taken the effort to reduce vehicle prices since last year, cutting car prices by an average of 4.3 per cent for all models.
– BERNAMA
