Wake-up Call For Toyota?

Folks,

Earlier this month, my colleague Naqib and I worked on a story on Toyota's sales, which has slumped in January.

Below is the story that we have published.

The Edge Financial Daily, Monday, March 2, 2015

A commentary on National Automotive Policy 2014

Folks,

I have been rather quiet – but that is because I was busy with my work.

Below is a good article by a media friend of mine, John Gilbert. He wrote a commentary on the latest version National Automotive Policy (NAP) that was launched in January 2014.

Have a read below, or here (PDF):

The Malaysian Reserve, Monday, March 2, 2015

A rather comprehensive article, I would say.

National carmakers to maintain market share

Folks,

On Wednesday (Jan 7, 2015), I attended a media briefing by Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm, on the outlook of the automotive sector.

During the briefing, the consulting firm said that vehicle sales – also known as total industry volume (TIV) – is expected to rise by 3.15% to 685,950 units this year, based on new models launched at competitive price. (click here to download the presentation slide in PDF format)

Frost & Sullivan also said that the national carmakers – Proton and Perodua – are expected to maintain their market share this year. If you look at their market share, it has eroded from 51.1% in 2013 to 46.8% in 2014. The table below summarizes the finding by think-tank Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI):

Automaker	TIV in 2014	Market Share in 2014	Market Share in 2013
Proton	195,000	29.4%	29.9%
Perodua	115,000	17.4%	21.2%
Total	310,000	46.8%	51.1%

Source: MAI

And yesterday (Jan 12, 2015), the Government-backed MAI also mentioned a bullish TIV projection of 5.1% to 700,000 this year.

CEO Madani Sahari said, if the government implements a rebate system – known as clash for clunkers – then the TIV may rise by 10% to 770,000 units.

On the performance for 2014, data tracked by MAI – which is sourced from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) – revealed that the TIV in 2014 marched 1.4% to 665,675 units, from 655,793 units in 2013.

If you study the performance in 2014, the actual TIV fell short of the earlier target. One analyst estimates that this year's TIV is expected to contract, instead of expand, by 3% to 650,000.

I wonder whether the bullish projections is achievable this year, given gloomy economic outlook and expected inflationary pressures, stemming from the upcoming implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) by April 1.

The stories that I have written for this is shown below.

Source: The Edge Financial Daily, Thursday, Jan 8, 2015

Source: The Edge Financial Daily, Tuesday, Jan 13, 2015