KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20– The extension of Sales and Service Tax (SST) exemption for Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) and Completely Built-Up (CBU) cars June 30 will help boost the automotive industry this year, said WapCar.
WapCar is a one-stop automotive content and tech-driven hub that provides a full range of information, insights, opinions, and user-generated content related to car browsing, buying and ownership.
According to its user activity data, which has 11 million users visitation on site in 2020, contributing to 48 million page views, showed that cars under RM100,000 were still the most popular, while brands like Proton and Perodua were the most searched.
“The market share of Proton and Perodua is expected to increase further thanks to new model launches.
“Proton is expected to introduce an updated Proton Iriz and Proton Persona, while Perodua will launch at least two more models, including a yet-to-be-named compact Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), code-named D55L,” the company said in a statement today.
WapCar said Proton and Perodua currently control close to a combined 60 per cent of the local car market and there is no reason to believe that both local brands would cede any ground in 2021.
It said the popularity of B-segment SUVs would continue to increase, mostly due to the affordability factor and introduction of new models like the Proton X50.
However, the rise of B-SUVs come at the expense of B-segment Multi-Purpose Vehicles (MPVs), a segment which has seen very little activity last year.
“The B-segment sedan will be affected slightly but the Proton Persona, Toyota Vios, and Honda City will continue to remain as core models for the respective makes,” it said.
Nevertheless, Wapcar said the reimposition of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in many key market centres would be tough on sales of cars this year.
The situation is still too fluid to make a reasonably strong forecast and with the COVID-19 situation showing no signs of improvement, Malaysians are expected to remain cautious with their spending, it added.
