Malaysia's March new car sales decline by 10% - MAA

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) reported that the country's new car sales in March 2024 decreased by 10% to 71,052 units from 78,881 units registered in the same month the previous year.

The association did point out that, at 64,290 units, the total industry volume (TIV) in March 2024 was 10% higher than it was in February 2024. This was due to the rush for deliveries by companies having their financial year ending on March 31, 2024 and Hari Raya festive season promotional campaigns.

According to data released by MAA, sales of passenger vehicles (PVs) decreased by 9% to 64,760 from 70,490 in February 2024, while sales of commercial vehicles (CV) decreased by 21% to 6,292 from 7,941 units. The March 2024 year-to-date sales volume was 5% higher at 202,245 units than the 192,615 units recorded during the same period in 2023. According to the report, this included 17,251 units of CV (down 16%) and 184,994 units of PV (up 8%).

According to MAA, 66,923 vehicles were produced in March 2024, a 12% decrease from 76,069 units in the same month the previous year. Of that total, 3,145 units were CVs (down 28% from 4,338 units previously), and 63,778 units were PVs, down 11% from 71,731 units in the same month last year.

According to MAA, 210,431 units have been produced year to date as of March 2024, a 6% increase over the 198,394 units produced during the same period the previous year. Of these, 199,199 units were PVs, which represents a 7% increase over the same period last year. The remaining 11,232 units, or 8% less, were CVs.

Regarding the forecast for April 2024, MAA stated that because of the shorter workweek due to the festive holidays of Hari Raya, it anticipated lower sales than in March 2024.