KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Investment Bank Bhd (RHB IB) says feedback from the ground showed that Malaysians still preferred to buy cars with internal combustion engines than electric vehicles (EVs).
"Our discussions with sales personnel confirmed that consumers generally still prefer petrol-fuelled cars over EVs,” it said.
Demand for electric vehicles is still soft, it said.
Although many EVs in the market are readily available, some EVs have a long and uncertain waiting period mainly because the dealerships lack visibility on when they will receive their imported units, it added.
RHB IB is maintaining its "overweight" call on the auto and auto parts sector, based on the sector’s earnings visibility and attractive yields of between four per cent and 10 per cent.
In a research note, the firm said that the overall sector demand remains healthy, especially the key marques, and the interest in recently launched models should continue to fuel future orders.
Its expectations were reinforced by the public’s response to the May 4-7 Malaysia Autoshow 2023, where some booths were more packed than others.
"Honda, Toyota, Chery, Great Wall Motors (GWM), BMW and Mercedes had noticeably crowded booths.
"While not packed, Perodua’s booth had a lot of car buyers awaiting loan approval and at the same time, Chinese brands were making their presence felt,” said RHB IB.
