PETALING JAYA, 29 April 2019 – McDonald’s Malaysia is placing greater focus in its Drive-Thru business across the country in response to changing trends among customers who are increasingly seeking convenience, as well as fast and friendly service to complement their on-the-go lifestyles. 

A recent study revealed that McDonald’s Drive-Thru meets consumers’ expectations in providing convenience during mealtimes. The greatest motivating factors that are driving consumers to use Drive-Thru services are that they are hassle-free and efficient.

The report adds that the advantages of Drive-Thru are not only limited to functional benefits, but it also provides emotional benefits to consumers. Apart from providing convenience, consumers also have the peace of mind and assurance that they are not running out of time during a meal.

At present, McDonald’s prides itself on being the Drive-Thru market leader, identified as the most accessible and reliable brand in Malaysia. As McDonald’s continues to expand its footprint nationwide, the Drive-Thru business has become a critical component of its business strategy to elevate McDonald’s market leadership and keep its promise of delivering delicious feel-good moments to loyal customers anytime, anywhere. 

According to McDonald’s Malaysia Managing Director and Local Operating Partner Azmir Jaafar, the company is targeting to open 20 new McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants this year. This will complement the existing 167 Drive-Thru restaurants already in operations today. 

“The Drive-Thru segment of our business has seen significant growth since the opening of our first Drive-Thru restaurant at McDonald’s Titiwangsa in 1988.  And since then, the Drive-Thru segment has no doubt become an important key driver for the company, as Drive-Thru window sales contribute close to 50% of total sales for all 167 McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants. On top of that, we are seeing an average of 10 percent year-on-year growth in our Drive-Thru sales for 1Q 2019,” said Azmir. 

“By 2021, McDonald’s Malaysia aims for 70 percent of all McDonald’s restaurants nationwide to be Drive-Thru restaurants,” added Azmir.    

The quick service restaurant’s leadership in the Drive-Thru business was further amplified during the recent Drive-Thru Weekend Challenge held from 26-28 April. Over the three days, a total of 473,860 cars zoomed off with their favourite McDonald’s meal from 167 McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants nationwide. The number of cars, if parked bumper to bumper, would be roughly equivalent to 150 times the length of the first Penang Bridge.

On top of that, McDonald’s successfully set a new record on 27 April for the highest vehicle count accessing McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants over the course of 24 hours, with a total of 164,235 vehicles. This led the company to be officially recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records for achieving the “Largest Participation for a Drive-Thru Challenge in 24 Hours”. 

McDonald’s Malaysia had previously held the record for most vehicles participating in a Drive-Thru Challenge in August 2008, where 18,677 vehicles drove up to 53 McDonald’s restaurants nationwide from 12pm to 3pm. A year prior, the record was 7,186 vehicles passing through 49 McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants between 12pm to 2pm.  

“We would like to thank Malaysians for being good sports and making this Drive-Thru Weekend a success. It was great to see the immense response for this challenge, especially seeing families coming to McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants nationwide to participate,” said Azmir. 

“We have seen 15 years of success of the McDonald’s Drive-Thru VIP loyalty programme, and we promise greater consumer activation in the future as we continue to improve our operational efficiency. We are committed to maintaining our market leadership today and confident that we will meet growing consumer needs for a wide variety of great tasting and quality food during any time of the day just by driving-thru McDonald’s,” said Azmir.

The Drive-Thru Weekend underscores McDonald’s capability to manage this fast-expanding business segment. Furthermore, McDonald’s expects a 10 to 15 percent increase in vehicle count at McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants moving forward as this segment continues to grow at an accelerated pace over the next few years. 

An exciting consumer activation in conjunction with the Drive-Thru Weekend was also launched on the McDonald’s app from 17-30 April. The Drive-Thru Hero Challenge created much excitement amongst consumers as it encouraged them to drive-thru and check-in at as many McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants as possible to stand a chance of being among the Top 10 Drive-Thru Heroes. With 1 stop equalling 10 points, the Top 10 Heroes will receive cash based on their points. For others, every 5 stops at McDonald’s Drive-Thrus will unlock offers on McDonald’s menu items.