HONDA Malaysia Sdn Bhd achieved record-breaking sales of 109,511 units last year, a 19 per cent increase from 91,830 vehicles sold in 2016.
The sales are the highest for the company since it was established in 2003.
In a statement, Honda Malaysia said it was the first time the company achieved sales of more than 100,000 units. It said the sales figure was also the highest among non-national car brands in Malaysia.
The central region contributed to the bulk of the sales at 47 per cent, followed by the southern and northern regions.
“The year 2017 truly was remarkable for Honda Malaysia. At the beginning, we challenged ourselves with a sales target of 100,000 units and in March we achieved a milestone with the 600,000th unit (CKD) production within the span of 14 years since the company started in 2003,” said Honda Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer Toichi Ishiyama.
“At the end-2017, based on internal data, our market share was at 19 per cent, an increase of 3.2 points from 2016. For the first time ever, we surpassed the 100,000-unit sales within a calendar year. We continue to maintain our No. 1 position for the non-national segment and No. 2 position in overall TIV (total industry volume).”
Ishiyama said the achievement would not have been possible without Honda Malaysia’s valued customers as well as strong support from its business partners and the Malaysian government.
Meanwhile, overall vehicle sales in Malaysia inched up slightly last year.
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) announced last month that new vehicles sales for November were 4.6 per cent, or 2,143 units, higher than October, due to year-end festive promotions.
TIV also crept up in November, with 1.3 per cent higher sales than the similar corresponding period in 2016. However, production shrunk by 26.2 per cent to 42,358 units in the month from 57,369 units recorded in the same period in 2016.
Year-to-date, the production number stood at 463,993 units, down from 497,418 units recorded in the same period last year.
MAA said it expected sales volume for December last year to be better than November due to continued aggressive campaigns and year-end festive promotions by car companies.