UMW Toyota Gears Up to Launch Toyota Hilux in Q2, followed by Alphard and Vellfire in Q3

Kuala Lumpur: Looks like 2016 is going to be a very busy year for Toyota in Malaysia. UMW Toyota Motors is pacing up very fast to reach the numero uno spot in the local market. The Japanese carmaker recently announced that it is all primed to unleash three of its widely popular nameplates in the country that includes the all new Hilux in Q2 which will be followed by Alphard and Vellfire models in Q3.

Toyota Hilux pick-up truck will be the first to hit Malaysian shore in Q2 2016, which will be followed by the all new Toyota Alphard MPV and Toyota Vellfire Premium MPV in Quarter 3 of 2016. The much anticipated Toyota Hilux will go against the likes of Ford Ranger T6, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan NP300 Navara in Malaysia. The Hilux truck recently debuted in Thailand and with its launch in Malaysia the sales traction for Toyota will surely improve.

The Toyota Alphard MPV is planned for a Q3 launch officially however an ultra luxurious grey import of the 2015 Toyota Vellfire 3.5 Executive Lounge model has already been landed on Malaysian shores. The MPV is a highly tweaked luxury trim loaded with lavish features and is being sold by CHY Autoworld at a whooping sum of RM568,000.

2015 was a great year for Toyota considering the sales units. UMW Toyota Motors challenged the uncertain market environment by hitting the sales target of 95,861 vehicles. This comprised 93,760 vehicles of the Toyota brand whereas 2,101 vehicles of the Lexus brand, out of which 65,295 of them were passenger cars. Although, UMW Toyota Motors is not that confident this year as it has forecasted a modest sales target of 87,000 units, of which 2,000 would come from luxury unit Lexus. This is an expected 9.2% drop from 2015.

This might be because of the recent announcement by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) which said that the vehicle sales in Malaysia will see a six year drop in 2016. It was speculated on the basis of consumer sentiment, parched economy and weaker ringgit. According to the MAA forecast Malaysia’s total industry volume will drop by 2.5% to 650,000 units in 2016 as compared to last year.

Toyota's biggest non national competitor in the current market is another Japanese fellow, Honda. The brand has already emerged as the number one non-national brand in 2015 with its top selling models like the City, Jazz and HR-V. Apart from these factors, Toyota is also struggling to cope up with the rising prices of their cars due to the weakening Ringgit. But, the brand is striving against all the odds and will soon become the number one non-national brand in Malaysia. To gear up, UMW Toyota Motor will introduce an all new tagline “All about the drive” to accentuate its local marketing scene in the year 2016.