Perodua Committed Towards Fulfilling 220K Back-orders

Shortages in the global – and local – parts supply chain has affected almost every major car manufacturer on the planet. Even national carmaker Perodua isn’t spared from this predicament, thus explaining why it has roughly 220,000 units in back-order still as of Jan 2023.

Nevertheless, the firm remains committed towards fulfilling these deliveries. During the ‘Perodua 2023 Outlook’ press conference held in Kuala Lumpur earlier today, Perodua president and CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad reaffirmed this commitment further by outlining a few steps and measures that Perodua will undertake to remedy this.

Popular models like the Bezza (left) and Alza AV variant still face lengthy waiting periods.

Firstly, Datuk Seri Zainal revealed that, of the 220,000 back-orders mentioned, roughly 15,000 of which were bookings made before the SST exemption period expired in the middle of last year. Perodua admits that not all of these pre-SST bookings will be delivered in time before the grace period ends on March 31, 2023.

The exec says Perodua is presently prioritising its efforts to deliver these pre-SST orders before said grace period ends. Furthermore, he also adds that Perodua will absorb the SST costs for these pre-SST orders delivered after the March 31 deadline, which should be a relief for affected owners.

Currently, customers face waiting times of up to 1 year for high in-demand models like the Bezza compact sedan. Also in high demand is the new DNGA-based second-gen Alza 7-seat MPV. Perodua says that the orders for the Alza also has longer than usual waiting periods, especially in its range-topping AV variant.

Despite increasing its annual production volume by 49.5% to 289,100 units maximising the Perodua Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (PMSB) manufacturing plant, Datuk Seri Zainal also admitted that said facility’s line speed needs to be increased further.

Nevertheless, this volume is set to increase further too as Perodua forecasts a 14.1% rise of which to 330,000 units this year. For that, Perodua also expects its newly announced Axia model, slated for launch next month, to make up 25% of which.