Honda announces cheaper CKD cars

By CARSIFU | 1 April 2015


KUALA LUMPUR: Will car prices go down after GST comes into effect? Honda answers that much-asked question with a clear yes.

It has announced that locally assembled models will be RM500 to RM2,500 cheaper with the deployment of the goods and services tax (GST) from today.

Honda assembles the Jazz, City, Civic, CR-V, Accord and HR-V in Malaysia.

For example, the City 1.5L V is now RM89,467.80 compared to the pre-GST price of RM90,813.50. The HR-V 1.8L V is RM118,229.10 compared to RM118,815.30 previously.

READ ALSO: What the other car brands are doing

Fully imported models are now priced slightly higher. For example, the Odyssey will see a price increase of between RM500 and RM1,000 following the GST implementation, said Honda Malaysia managing director and CEO Yoichiro Ueno at its media night gathering on Monday.

Honda Malaysia is among the first car companies to shed light on where its prices will swing, and its announcement is in line with a recent Customs Department declaration that cars will be cheaper with the switch to GST. The 6% consumption tax replaces the Sales and Services Tax.

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The local GST is still the lowest in the region. Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia impose a 10% GST rate. In Singapore and Thailand, it is 7%, while the Philippines' GST is 12%.

More good news came with the announcement that Honda's spare parts will on average be 3.7% lower for all models. However, labour costs will see a hike with the addition of the GST.

Looking at the bigger picture however, overall maintenance costs in view of the cheaper replacement parts, would be down 2% to 4%, depending on model, said Ueno.

He also said Honda remains the No.1 non-national brand for the first quarter of 2015.

Its first quarter sales forecast is 21,563 units, a growth of 37% over the same period last year.

Ueno said March sales was the highest on record with 9,000 units expected to be sold, with sales led by the hot selling  HR-V, CR-V and City.

Ueno continued that while Honda vehicles were selling well in urban areas, it was underrepresented in outlying areas and in Sabah and Sarawak.

He said one of Honda Malaysia’s focus this year is to strengthen its reach across the country via more dealerships, parts and distribution centres as well as training facilities.

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GST Rates across South-East Asia

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