gear kereta

NATIONAL carmaker Perodua will ramp up the production of its Alza multipurpose vehicle (MPV) by 50 per cent to cut the waiting time.

Managing director Aminar Rashid Salleh said the carmaker plans to produce 6,000 units a month from 4,000 now.

Buyers have to wait for as long as three and a half months to get the car now.

"We aim to reduce the waiting period to two months," Aminar said after marking the arrival of the 'Konvoi Mesra Produa Alza Borneo 2010' convoy which began its roadshow in Miri, Sarawak, on February 3.

The convoy stopped in all the major towns before arriving in Kuching with Perodua showcasing the Alza and other models.

Perodua gets an average booking of 400 units a month for the Alza and total bookings have hit 20,500 units since its launch on November 23 last year.

Aminar said the response to the Alza had been overwhelming, "almost similar to the response when we first launched the Myvi".

"To us, this is a very good sign. It shows the Alza is very well accepted."

In Sarawak, bookings for the Alza have passed the 1,240-unit mark.

Buoyed by the prospect of a full economic recovery this year, Aminar said, Perodua hoped to better its performance last year when it sold 166,700 cars.

Perodua targets to sell 176,000 units this year.

Myvi was still its best selling car nationwide last year with almost 91,000 sold. The Myvi had topped their best selling model for the last five years since the model was launched in May 2005.

"Sales of Myvi was something Perodua had not expected because it bucked the trend of car sales.

"Every year since it was launched, the sales keep on increasing.

"It's out of the ordinary," Aminar said.

Last year, Aminar said, sales rose due to government help.

"Under the swap scheme (where owners of a national car that is more than 10 years old can trade for a new national vehicle), Perodua managed to sell 20,000 units via the scheme."

In Sarawak, the most popular model is the Viva.

Perodua sold 12,731 cars in Sarawak last year for a 35 per cent of market share.

However, the sales only contributed to 7.6 per cent of Perodua's sales. Aminar has now raised the target to 10 per cent this year.

"There is an opportunity for us to grow. We are happy if we can do 10 per cent."