Maybank Investment Bank Research Maintains Positive Outlook On Automotive Sector

Sales of new vehicles in Malaysia is expected to grow by 10-14 percent this year, mainly due to strong performance by the country's top two car manufacturers, according to a research report by Maybank Investment Bank Research (MIB Research).

MIB Research, in its report entitled Bye 2020, Hi 2021, says that the growth in 2021 will be mainly driven by three factors: the six months extension of the sales and services tax exemption; the full year’s impact of Proton’s X-50 sales performance; and new launches by other major carmakers, including Perodua.

“The most anticipated launch in 2021 would likely be Perodua’s compact SUV, which is scheduled to roll-out in 2Q 2021,” MIB Research says in the report. “Overall, we believe that our estimate is realistic.”

 

In 2020, the total industry volume fell 12.4 percent to 529,434 units. Sales of passenger vehicles fell 12.6 percent to 480,965 units, while sales of commercial vehicles fell 10.4 percent to 48,469 units.

During the year, sales of national cars fell 3.5 percent to 328,687 units, while non-national car sales tumbled 26.1 percent. Perodua, the country’s largest car maker, registered sales of 220,163 units, representing a decline of 8.4 percent. Proton, which was once the country’s largest car maker and currently in second place, saw sales jumped 8.3 percent to 108,524 units.

Most non-national car brands registered declines, with the exception of Mazda and BMW, the MIB Research report indicates. In 2020, Mazda’s sales rose 4.2 percent to 12,141 units, while BMW’s sales rose 5.6 percent to 9,818 units.