As the Malyasian ringgit continued to depreciate, UMW Toyota announced it would increase the price of Toyota and Lexus vehicles effective January 2016. The increase varies between 4% to 16% across all models.
Year-to-date, the ringgit has depreciated by almost 20% to the US dollar, thus increasing costs.
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Datuk Ismet Suki, president of UMW Toyota Motor said: "Since the beginning of this year, the fluctuation of the ringgit has impacted our business as some of our parts and components are imported, resulting in an increase in overall cost of production. The company would have implemented necessary measures to minimise forex losses impact and address the fluctuation of the ringgit if it dropped gradually. Unfortunately, the sudden and huge fluctuation has given great impact to our operations. Hence, the company will have to increase the prices of Toyota and Lexus vehicles effective January 2016. The increase is inevitable as there is no clear indication on when the ringgit will rebound.
"If the ringgit continues to slide in the near future, we may need to review our pricing structure again.
Suki was optimistic the price increase would not have a big impact on sales with UMW Toyota currently on track to meet its business targets.
"We are facing challenging times but UMW Toyota is confident we can ride out the storm."
