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Strong Yen To Hit Car Sales In Brunei
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - The strong yen is likely to hurt car buyers in Brunei. The Japanese yen has appreciated by a whopping 28 per cent against the Brunei dollar.

Most car dealers in the country are feeling the heat at this point of time after robust sales in the last three months.

With a strong yen car prices will inevitably increase and dealers have to apply to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for new pricing.

An established dealer, who wished to remain anonymous, said the price of Japanese cars that used to cost $20,000 might soon go up by $3,000 to $4,000.

He said, last June manufacturers had planned to increase the price due to the rise in steel and oil prices. But with the drop in steer prices due to the gloomy global economy and the recent freefall in oil price, a strong yen is now the concern among the dealers.

Oil prices have plunged almost two-third since striking record highs above US$147 in July as a

global economic slowdown has dented world energy demand.

Another dealer said the volatile stock market and a strong yen may be hurting Japanese companies, which are largely export-driven. But outside Japan, there are some businesses which are affected by the strong Japanese currency.

The Brunei automobile market was robust from August to October before slowing down in November. Car sales reached 1,372 units in August and surged to a record high of 1,662 units in September as buyers took advantage of various promotions during Hari Raya. The spill over from September also increased sales in October to a total 1,226 units.

Until October 2008, a grand total of 12,615 units of cars have been sold in the Sultanate and the largest share. as usual, was taken by Toyota with 3,352 units followed by Suzuki with 1,818 units, Hyundai with 973 units and Mitsubishi with 938 units.

"However for November, we expect sales to plummet to less than 1,000 units. It has been the tradition that sales will be slow after Hari Raya. One way or other, we are also affected by the global economic crisis," said a dealer.

As for next year's outlook, auto dealers predict a gloomy period. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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