Apex Research said the upcoming lineup represents a clear price-segment repositioning.
PETALING JAYA: Bermaz Auto Bhd
is starting to see improved earnings visibility as new vehicles get better traction, analysts say.
Apex Research, which has upgraded the stock to a “hold” call from “sell”, said Bermaz set a positive tone heading into this year, underpinned by an expanded and refreshed product pipeline that could reshape the company’s sales trajectory.
The research house also revised its target price on Bermaz to 80 sen from 50 sen.
“Last October, Bermaz Auto launched Mazda’s CX-60 and the new Mazda3, both of which have been well received,” the research house said, adding that this provides early volume visibility following a previously subdued product cycle.
Initial bookings stood at 300 units for the CX-60 and 2,500 units for the Mazda3, lifting total bookings in Malaysia to 3,000 units, accounting for one-third of the research house’s assumption for Bermaz’s Mazda sales for its financial year ending April 30 (FY26).
The company also plans to launch a few new Mazda models, including the higher-priced Mazda CX-5 and CX-80 models, alongside a completely knocked-down B-segment sports utility vehicle offering a lower entry price point.
Apex Research said the upcoming lineup represents a clear price-segment repositioning, enabling the brand to address both premium replacement demand and incremental mass-market volumes.
“This broader coverage closes prior portfolio gaps and underpins the volume-recovery assumptions embedded in our forecasts,” it added.
The research house pointed out that Bermaz Auto’s XPeng models also continues to gain interest, recording a new monthly high of 202 units last December versus 193 units in November, driven by front-loaded demand ahead of the expiry of tax incentives for completely built-up electric vehicles.
The research house said its sales assumptions for Bermaz have been raised to 13,080 units from 9,280 for FY26, to 13,760 from 9,320 for FY27, and 13,850 from 9,501 for FY28.
“The revision is underpinned by visible order backlogs of 23% on our revised FY26 sales assumptions, alongside a broadened Mazda product mix and strong sales traction from XPeng, underpinned by about 700 units of available inventory,” Apex Research said.
