gear kereta

KUCHING, April 9 — UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd has sold 21,017 units of Toyota vehicles for the first quarter of this year, up 22 per cent from the same period last year.

Its president Kuah Kock Heng said in the same period last year, the company sold a total of 17,200 units despite the challenging year for the auto industry and based on the current figures, it was likely to hit the sales target for this year.

“With this positive momentum, I am confident of achieving our target of 88,000 units or 16.0 per cent market share,” he said at a media reception here today.

Last year, the company sold more than 82,000 units with a market share of 15.4 per cent and it has been the number one for the non-national vehicles segment for the past 20 years.

For Sarawak, Kuah said the state continued to be an important market as it contributed 10 per cent or 8,300 units of the total Toyota vehicles sold in the country last year.

“The Toyota Hilux remains the number one contributor to Toyota sales with 3,248 units or 40 per cent of total sales in Sarawak,” he said, adding that based on the selling trend this year, the Hilux would again be the top-selling model in Sarawak, followed by passengers cars like Vios, Camry and Corolla as well as multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) like Avanza, Innova and Fortuner.

“For the first quarter of this year, we have delivered 968 units on Sarawak roads. This is a 35 per cent increase compared to 715 units in the same period last year,” Kuah said.

“Currently, we are looking at network expansion in Sarawak to enhance sales and after-sales facilities to cater the needs of our customers. Right now, upgrading projects are in progress at our outlets in Kuching and Miri,” he said.

Asked to elaborate on the network expansion programme in Sarawak, Kuah said it would also involve relocating some of the branches which are considered small.

The company has branches in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu and Miri with sales, service and spare parts facilities as well as five dealers operating statewide. — Bernama