Bezza Tops Perodua’s 1H2023 Sales With Over 40,000 Units Delivered

Perodua closed the first half of 2023 (1H2023) on a high note by recording significant increases across the board. Between Jan to June this year, the national carmaker produced 131,641 cars, delivering 144,690 units of which to customers in the same timeframe.

Compared to the same period last year, this marks a healthy 17% increase in production, plus a 13.6% increase in deliveries. Much of this stems from the strong first quarter (Q1) efforts by Perodua where it focused on meeting its Penjana obligations, culminating with 78,564 cars delivered. In the second quarter (Q2), Perodua delivered 66,126 units instead.

Perodua President and CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

“The higher production and sales performances for the first half of 2023 were due to better supply of parts as well as improved production efficiency at our manufacturing plant,” said Perodua’s President and CEO Datuk Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

The exec notes that improvements made include quicker tact time (the time it takes to produce a vehicle) from 1.35 minutes to 1.25 minutes at the Perodua Global Manufacturing plant (PGMSB). He also notes Perodua is on track towards meeting its 330,000 production and 314,000 registration goals for this year.

The Bezza (left) outsold the evergreen Myvi (right) in 1H2023, with Perodua delivering 40,555 units and 32,316 units respectively.

Latest DNGA-based Axia supermini ranks third with Perodua delivering 28,199 units throughout 1H2023.

Key drivers to these improved production and deliveries include the Bezza compact sedan, which stood as Perodua’s best-seller for 1H2023 with 40,555 units delivered. Said A-segment sedan dethroned the evergreen Myvi hatch, which saw 32,319 units delivered in the same time frame. Following which is the Axia supermini with 28,199 units delivered thus far.

Initial 2,500 units of ready-stock Axia E ('Axia Rahmah') were all snapped up within 48 hours, says Perodua.

These aside, Datuk Seri Zainal also noted the stellar reception of the recently introduced Axia E. Nicknamed the ‘Axia Rahmah’ by many, the bargain basement offering saw its initial ready stock allocation of 2,500 units all snapped up within the first 48 hours. The model was introduced in June where it commanded an attractively affordable RM22,000 price tag.

“Looking ahead, we expect both production and sales to continue their uptrend as demand for our vehicles remain healthy,” continued Datuk Sri Zainal further. While existing bookings are encouraging, the exec also acknowledged potential challenges ahead, ranging from potential higher financing costs and intermittent supply shortages.