Perodua vehicle sales fell 11 percent in March to 16,000 compared to the 18,000 in the same month of last year, largely due to the new hire purchase guidelines introduced by Bank Negara Malaysia last January.

In a quarter-to-quarter comparison, the national car company’s sales eased 2.2 percent to 44,700 vehicles from the 45,700 registered in the first quarter of 2011.

“Based on the data we have compiled, the Viva is the worst hit with a 19 percent drop in sales in the first quarter of this year to 13,000 units from 16,000 registered in the same period of 2011," its managing director, Aminar Rashid Salleh, said in a statement today.

He explained that vehicle bookings are still healthy with 20,000 units booked in March alone.

Aminar said that the current loan approval rate by financial institutions was much lower than usual due to the new guidelines.

He also said the guidelines are delaying loan approvals or approvals made at a much reduced amount.

“Due to this delay, it takes an average of 20 days to know the outcome of a loan application instead of three days previously, and this is having a huge impact on not just manufacturers, but also the entire automotive eco-system,” he added.

Aminar said the loan rejection as well as delays in the process, had resulted in high inventory levels at Perodua’s stockyards, which in turn has increased the cost for independent dealers.

“We are currently compiling data on the effects of the new guidelines to share with the relevant stakeholders and are hopeful that a solution can be found to bring things back to normal,” he added.

 Media reports have quoted the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) as saying that the total industry volume (TIV) for the first quarter of 2012 shrank by 12.6 percent to 138,544 vehicles from 158,432 in the same period of last year.

“We are of the opinion that the estimated TIV for this year may be slightly lower than the figure estimated by the MAA due to these difficulties.

“The vehicles at the entry level are the most badly affected and due to their relatively bigger sales volume, this will have a significant impact on the TIV,” Aminar said.

- Bernama