No Reservations And Transfers Allowed For Cars Booked Before June 30

Most major car companies won't accept requests to change reservations made before the June 30 sales tax exemption deadline.

Major auto dealers said that this was prohibited for reasons of fairness and to stop abuse.

Among the automakers that have chosen such a strategy are national brands Proton and Perodua, both of which have decided against accepting a modification in the vehicle's specifications or model too.

According to Proton deputy CEO, Roslan Abdullah this policy is to avoid any potential unjust outcome for real buyers and also to limit the chance of speculators attempting to profit from such practices.

The Star reported that a Perodua spokeperson told the publication that any change in the order would not be allowed after a booking was finalised on or before June 30.

“This is because the booking information is submitted to the Finance Ministry for the sales tax exemption. Our sales advisers made it a point to remind buyers before they placed the bookings. So there will be no changes allowed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bermaz Auto Director Datuk Wong Kin Foo confirmed that a name change for any Mazda vehicle that has been reserved is not feasible in order to "prevent speculation and profiteering."

In the final two weeks of June, he claimed, there had been an increase in Mazda orders, with roughly 2,000 units booked.

With the current supply chain disruption and manufacturing capacity issues, it is rather impossible for carmakers to fill all orders by March next year. 

Teoh SP, a Honda sales adviser based in Klang, told The Star that any transfer in the booking was not allowed.

However, Eve Lee, a Toyota sales adviser based in Rawang, said a name change would only be taken into consideration in ‘unique’ situations such as rejected car loan. 

However, she said a change of model or specs “is not advisable”.

“Customers who have booked their vehicles are waiting anxiously. Such changes will be unfair to them. Those who change their specs or models at the last-minute may not be entitled to the sales tax exemption,” she added.