The Malaysian car industry has experienced a little bit of a sales growth after a massive slump.
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has published the sales numbers for the automotive industry in May 2023. The Total Industry Volume (TIV) demonstrated an impressive rebound in May 2023, surpassing the figures recorded in April 2023 by 32.7%. The TIV for April stood at 46,583 units, highlighting the substantial growth achieved.
That being said, April 2023 was a very slow month with car sales shrinking by 41% versus March 2023. Car sales dropped in April partially because 31st March 2023 was the last date for car companies to deliver vehicles with SST-free pricing as part of the previous administration’s PENJANA plan.
The surge in May’s TIV can be attributed to multiple factors, most notably the fulfillment of backlogged orders and the strong demand generated by new model launches. Early May 2023 saw the launch of the Proton X90 while Perodua launched the all-new Axia in February. The exceptional sales performance of the two national car manufacturers played a pivotal role in driving the heightened TIV for May 2023.
As a result, the TIV for the year-to-date (YTD) period of May 2023 reached an impressive 300,978 units, exhibiting a remarkable increase of 12.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2022. Similarly, the YTD May 2023 Total Production Volume (TPV) reached 304,484 units, indicating a substantial growth of 18% compared to the similar corresponding period in 2022.
Looking ahead to June 2023, the domestic economic environment continues to provide strong support. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) believes that the demand for new motor vehicles remains resilient due to the existence of high backlogged orders. However, it is anticipated that registration volume might experience a slight slow down over the next coming months, possibly as many new car launches are coming with noticeable price hikes to keep up with inflated production costs.
Perhaps more carmakers will start to go down the Perodua Axia E route and re-release older models that have been stripped down to meet a new segment of buyers at a much more reasonable price.
