Malaysia Market Advances in April; Strong Second Half Seen

Malaysian new-vehicle sales reach 58,732 units in April, up 11.9% from year-ago, when deliveries of 52,489 units were affected by the country’s general election.

Malaysian Automotive Assn. data shows passenger-vehicle deliveries rose 15.2% to 52,488 units, while commercial vehicles eased 9.8% to 6,244.

The result leaves year-to date sales up 4.0% to 218,642 units, with passenger-vehicle volume up 5.2% to 195,016 and CV sales off 5.1% to 23,626.

The MAA says April’s vehicle production rose 12.5% to 57,086 units, with the car segment ahead 16.2% to 53,176 and the CV build off 21.1% to 3,910.

Year-to-date the domestic production is up 6.9% at 210,443 units, with the new-car segment ahead 9.7% to 193,949 and the CV build off 17.6% to 16,494.

Ford reports its best-ever April result in Malaysia with sales climbing 35% to 1,173 vehicles, driven by demand for its Ranger, Fiesta, Focus and Kuga models.

Ford Malaysia and Asia Pacific Emerging Markets Managing Director David Westerman says the appeal of the Ford brand continues to strengthen under its product-led transformation and a growing lineup of segment-leading Ford vehicles.

“This is translating into more traffic through our showrooms across the country, and consistent sales gains,” he says in a statement.

With April deliveries rising 38% to 646 units, the new Ranger pickup continued as Ford’s most popular nameplate with year-to-date sales up 37% at 2,365 units.

Ford expects the launch of its new Fiesta 1.0L EcoBoost to help keep the sales momentum rolling for the rest of the year.

The automaker says it is continuing to expand its nationwide dealership network and is on track to reach 50 showrooms across Malaysia by year-end.

Meantime, Frost & Sullivan predicts Malaysian vehicle sales in the second half of the year will be boosted by new model launches and aggressive promotional activities.

“We expect the market to grow further in the second half of the year and would like to maintain our sales forecast of 675,000 units as of now,” Dushyant Sinha, Asia Pacific automotive practice associate director, is quoted as saying in Malaysia’s Business Times newspaper.

He says a number of new models are expected to make their debut later this year.

“Honda and Nissan will both be shoring up their model lineup, as well as Proton and Perodua with their new hatchbacks,” Dushyant says. “Original equipment manufacturers are also rolling out completely knocked-down variants such as the Mazda3 and Mazda6 at lower price points.

“This, along with increased activity in the energy-efficient vehicle space should spur demand further.”