More GST related news, this time from Perodua. Starting today, prices of Perodua cars will see a reduction of 0.1% to 1.6% depending on model, following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. For spare parts, Perodua will absorb the impact of GST and maintain prices.
"We have always been supportive of the government's intention and the customers' expectation in terms of providing affordable and value for money vehicles. We had repositioned the price of some of our models and added value ranging from 3% to 12% since 2013. In addition all our models have a five-year warranty for the peace of mind to our customers," said Perodua president and CEO Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh.
The P2 boss pointed out that the first fruit of its cost saving initiative was the S-Series variants, which chalked up sales of around 153,000 units from March 2013 to January 2015. The Rawang-based carmaker has initiated investment and transformation programmes since 2011 to be globally competitive in terms of quality, cost and delivery of goods/services.
While P2 supports the introduction of GST in principle, its dealers aren't happy. Yesterday, Perodua Dealers Association president Wan Kamal Wan Ismail pleaded for the government to allow dealers to reclaim the 10% sales tax on invoices issued prior to the implementation of GST. With pre-GST stocks being "double taxed", each independent dealer will stand to lose an average of RM230,000, he said.
Starbiz, in a report today touching on the subject, quoted an unnamed customs officer who made light of the issue. "The stock is unlikely to be that big. Furthermore, these are big ticket items and most car companies don't keep them for too long. The impact won't be adverse. If there are unsold stock, it will usually be sold within a few weeks," he said.
Aminar touched lightly on the matter. "While the impact of the GST may result in reduction to some areas of our business, unfortunately there are other areas of our business that will result in an increase in cost.
"Taking all these into consideration including the appreciation of the US dollar to the ringgit, we are happy and pleased to announced that we are able to pass along the savings to our valued customers on the price of the vehicles, while absorbing the cost incurred on our spare parts," he said.
More on the issue of "double tax" and an in-depth look at GST and the automotive industry in our GST feature story, where we speak to actors from both sides of the stage - customs and the carmakers.
Perodua has not released GST-inclusive prices of its cars at the time of writing. Watch this space for updates.
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