President and chief executive officer Zainal Abidin Ahmad said the company sold 127,343 units in H1 2022, a 30% jump from the same period last year.

The carmaker also received total bookings of over 200,000 units during the period, thanks to the government’s sales and service tax (SST) exemption.

“On the last day of the (SST) initiative, Perodua saw an unprecedented highest single booking day, with 25,100 vehicle orders taken on June 30, 2022,” he told reporters at Perodua’s mid-year get-together event here today.

In January this year, Perodua set a target to register a total of 247,800 vehicles in 2022 against an estimated total industry volume of 610,000 units projected by the company.

Of the 127,343 units registered in H1 2022, the Perodua Myvi was the most popular model with 38,039 units registered, followed by the Axia (29,183) and the Bezza (28,719).

Apart from the sales tax exemption initiative that ended on June 30, Zainal said another key factor contributing to the performance was the low registration of vehicles in June last year due to the second Covid-19 lockdowns.

He said the increase in registered units last month was also due to better parts supply in comparison to May.

However, he also noted that issues such as skilled labour and parts shortages persisted and asked for understanding from customers in terms of delivery.

“We sincerely apologise for the long wait and are doing everything in our power to further improve production for the benefit of our customers,” he said.

Zainal said steps being taken included working closely with suppliers and, in some cases, providing Perodua staff to work at suppliers’ premises to ensure that parts supply continue to flow.

“That being said, we hope that the manpower issue can be resolved quickly as the impact to the industry, and to some extent the country, is significant.

“As for the parts shortage, continuous communication with suppliers and partners are ongoing to find alternative components,” he added.