Last year was no walk in the park for the car business in Malaysia. Car buyers however had a great time shopping for discounts and free gifts from brands that have never before even offered an umbrella as a drive away gift.
After some 15 years of continues growth, 2016 saw a dip in consumer interest initially and after heavy discounts, long factory warranties, high over trade and free technology gifts, car sales were brisk whilst profit margins were squeezed to its lowest levels ever.
Now comes a brand new year and this January 2017 total sales stood at 44,667 units which is down by some 31% from December 2016 sales numbers and slightly better than January 2016’s sales number which was 44,589 units.
Sales of new passenger and commercial vehicles in January 2017 mirrored the previous January 2016 pattern, which marked a considerable dip in total industry volume compared to 2015, which charted Malaysia’s highest ever total sales volume on an impressive 666,674 units.
So will we have a dip in the total sales volume in 2017? Our prediction says……..Yes…..but by a small margin only.
There will however be a major shift in buying patterns and many brands will have to bite the bullet and the gun belt to stay open whilst a few others will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Luxury car buyers will continue to enjoy sales, mid segment cars will take a beating and the sensible priced compact vehicles will see its best year ever.
