KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Holdings Bhd has reiterated that it will not be making a bid for Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s 42.7% stake in Proton Holdings Bhd.
“I think we have already made it clear that UMW is not making any bids. We at UMW are committed to our partner Toyota in enhancing its business here in Malaysia and making Perodua (where UMW is a major stakeholder) self-reliant pre and post-NAP (National Automotive Policy),” said UMW’s group chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin in a Bernama report yesterday.
In the report, Asmat said as far as UMW was concerned, the Proton issue had not been discussed at board level. “And as far as I know we have no plans to make a bid. We have not even considered it,” he said.
UMW’s subsidiary UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd yesterday unveiled the updated Toyota Avanza seven-seater MPV. With four more new or updated models to be released in 2012, UMW Toyota is confident of recapturing its domestic market share amid an increasingly competitive environment.
UMW Toyota, which is the sole distributor of Toyota and Lexus cars in Malaysia, plans to sell 8,800 units of the updated Avanza this year.
UMW Toyota’s deputy chairman, Takashi Hibi, said: “Back in 2005, the Avanza commanded 60% of the local market share of affordable MPVs and about 30,000 units were sold each year. Back then we had almost no competition, but there are many more competitors in the market now in this segment.”
Since the Avanza was first launched in 2005, UMW Toyota has sold over 140,000 units of the MPV in Malaysia. It was the best-selling non-national car from 2005 to 2007.
“Last year, Avanza’s market share was somewhere between 15% and 20%. We expect this figure to improve this year. It will not be anywhere near the 2005 levels, but slightly over 20%,” added Hibi.
At the same time, Hibi is positive on his outlook for the automotive industry in Malaysia.
“Last year, about 599,000 cars were sold in Malaysia. This year we expect to see that number exceed the 600,000-mark. My biggest concern for 2012 (for the local automotive sector) is an increase in interest rates,” he said.
According to Hibi, 2012 is going to be an exciting year for UMW Toyota with four more new or updated models to be launched. Among them, the much-anticipated Prius C, which is a hybrid coupe, will be launched next month. UMW Toyota sold about 90,000 units in 2011.
CIMB Investment Bank has a “neutral” call on UMW with a target price of RM7 per share while Maybank Investment Bank and Hong Leong Investment Bank have a “hold” call and target prices of RM6.10 and RM 7.60 respectively.
Hong Leong cited supply chain recovery from the Thailand and Japan disasters as well as the strong sales of Lexus, Toyota and Perodua as among the factors for the high target price. UMW owns a 38% stake in Perodua.
UMW closed higher yesterday at RM6.99, up 10 sen from RM6.89 with 288,800 shares traded.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 12, 2012.
“I think we have already made it clear that UMW is not making any bids. We at UMW are committed to our partner Toyota in enhancing its business here in Malaysia and making Perodua (where UMW is a major stakeholder) self-reliant pre and post-NAP (National Automotive Policy),” said UMW’s group chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin in a Bernama report yesterday.
In the report, Asmat said as far as UMW was concerned, the Proton issue had not been discussed at board level. “And as far as I know we have no plans to make a bid. We have not even considered it,” he said.
UMW’s subsidiary UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd yesterday unveiled the updated Toyota Avanza seven-seater MPV. With four more new or updated models to be released in 2012, UMW Toyota is confident of recapturing its domestic market share amid an increasingly competitive environment.
UMW Toyota, which is the sole distributor of Toyota and Lexus cars in Malaysia, plans to sell 8,800 units of the updated Avanza this year.
UMW Toyota’s deputy chairman, Takashi Hibi, said: “Back in 2005, the Avanza commanded 60% of the local market share of affordable MPVs and about 30,000 units were sold each year. Back then we had almost no competition, but there are many more competitors in the market now in this segment.”
(From left) Asmat, Toyota MotorCorp chief engineer Kaoru Hosokawa, Hibi and UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd president Ismet Suki at the media launch of the all-new Toyota Avanza.
Since the Avanza was first launched in 2005, UMW Toyota has sold over 140,000 units of the MPV in Malaysia. It was the best-selling non-national car from 2005 to 2007.
“Last year, Avanza’s market share was somewhere between 15% and 20%. We expect this figure to improve this year. It will not be anywhere near the 2005 levels, but slightly over 20%,” added Hibi.
At the same time, Hibi is positive on his outlook for the automotive industry in Malaysia.
“Last year, about 599,000 cars were sold in Malaysia. This year we expect to see that number exceed the 600,000-mark. My biggest concern for 2012 (for the local automotive sector) is an increase in interest rates,” he said.
According to Hibi, 2012 is going to be an exciting year for UMW Toyota with four more new or updated models to be launched. Among them, the much-anticipated Prius C, which is a hybrid coupe, will be launched next month. UMW Toyota sold about 90,000 units in 2011.
CIMB Investment Bank has a “neutral” call on UMW with a target price of RM7 per share while Maybank Investment Bank and Hong Leong Investment Bank have a “hold” call and target prices of RM6.10 and RM 7.60 respectively.
Hong Leong cited supply chain recovery from the Thailand and Japan disasters as well as the strong sales of Lexus, Toyota and Perodua as among the factors for the high target price. UMW owns a 38% stake in Perodua.
UMW closed higher yesterday at RM6.99, up 10 sen from RM6.89 with 288,800 shares traded.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, January 12, 2012.
