KUALA LUMPUR: National carmakers are expected to exceed their sales target this year, said Affin Hwang Capital.
Proton will likely exceed its 2019 sales target of 100,000 units, considering the popular demand for the 2019 Proton Saga and the X70
Proton Saga had estimated 35,000 bookings since its launch in August 2019, it added.
For Perodua, Affin Hwang said with sales volume of 222,000 units in the first 11 months, the carmaker was expected to exceed the sales target of 235,000 units.
"Perodua maintained its dominant position with market share of 40.4 per cent in the first 11 months," it said.
Affin Hwang said total industry volume (TIV) had risen by nine per cent year-on-year to 52,600 units in November, thanks to the stronger sales performance from Proton and Toyota.
However, the TIV for the first 11 months of this year was flat at 549,500 units, accounting for 92.2 per cent of Affin Hwang's full-year forecasts and within expectations.
Affin Hwang said the year-end promotional campaigns also had seen sequential improvement for most key non-national carmakers, except for Mazda with only 803 units sold in November.
The blip in Mazda sales volume, 58 per cent lower year-on-year, was likely due to the car pricing approvals issue, which had been resolved recently, it said.
Affin Hwang said Toyota stood as the champion among the Japanese brands, its highest sales volume since August 2018 of 9,000 units.
The premium brand’s sales performance was also commendable in November with BMW/MINI and Mercedes-Benz sales volumes picked up.
Affin Hwang maintained a "neutral" rating on the automotive sector with top pick being MBM Resources Bhd for its appealing valuation.