Over 720,000 new cars were registered in Malaysia in 2023. Here’s the breakdown.
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has shared the production and sales number breakdown for 2023 and it looks like positive news all around. In a nutshell, sales of new motor vehicles rose 11% year-on-year in 2023, making it the second consecutive year Malaysia saw more than 700,000 new vehicles being registered.
The MAA attribute the growth to a number of factors, including the stable socio-political environment, a resilient domestic economy, the fulfillment of SST-discounted orders registered before 31st March 2023, new EV launches and much improved industry supply chain following the shortages that followed the pandemic and floods of 2021 and 2022.
Now let’s dive into the details to see which segments took the biggest wins overall.
Passenger Vehicles
Total registration of new passenger vehicles in 2023 went up by 12% or 77,003 units versus 2022 with 719,160 new passenger cars registered. Most of these were, of course, national cars with 481,300 Perodua and Proton vehicles registered, a jump up from 418,045 units for those two brands in 2022.
As for non-national brands, a total of 237,860 passenger vehicles were registered in 2023, up by 6% versus 2022.
Electric and Electrified Vehicles
Electric and hybrid vehicles also saw some major growth in popularity, making up about 5% of total industry volume in 2023. Overall, 28,055 hybrid electric vehicles (including Plug-in Hybrid Electric) were sold last year. As for electric vehicles, MAA reports 10,159 units were registered in 2023. Overall this segment grew by 69% versus 2022. It’s also anticipated that this segment will continue to grow in 2024 with more models being introduced and continued tax incentives.
We think this growth will be largely spurred by the introduction of the BYD Seal and the increased availability of the Model 3 in 2024. This also should be the year JPJ introduces their revised road tax rate for EVs as the exemption for these types of vehicles expires at the end of 2024.
Commercial Vehicles
Here’s where the growth has been minimal. Only a 2% increase was recorded year-on-year, with just 80,571 new commercial vehicles being registered in 2023.
Which Months Were Best
Throughout 2023, sales were higher versus 2022 except in April and June. From May 2023 onwards, MAA reports vehicle sales exceeded 60,000 units a month and even 70,000 units a month.
