Malaysia Posts Strong September But October Sales Outlook Even Better

Malaysian new-vehicle sales soared 19.6% year-on-year in September to 54,945 units, with the Malaysian Automotive Assn. predicting October sales will be even higher.

MAA data shows new passenger-vehicle deliveries jumped to 48,411 units, up 20.3% from prior-year’s 40,235. Commercial-vehicle sales climbed 14.8% to 6,534 units.

The increase, the group says, can be credited to a return to normal market conditions and the launch of several new models. It predicts October’s result will climb again as year-end promotions and new-model sales campaigns kick in.

The September growth spurt left year-to-date volume up 6.4% to 487,970 units, with passenger-vehicle sales up 6.6% to 430,488. CV deliveries rose 5.3% to 57,482.

In line with the growing sales volume, MAA says Malaysian vehicle production grew 10.4% to 54,017 units, with passenger-vehicle output up 8.4% to 48,932. The CV build edged upward to 5,085 units from year-ago’s 4,958.

In the first nine months of the year, Malaysian production rose 3.5% to 439,868 units with the dominant car segment up 4.8% to 396,586 and small-CV sector down 7.7% to 43,282.