Malaysian First-Half Light-Vehicle Sales Slip 14.5%

Malaysia’s new-vehicle sales ended the first half down a disappointing 14.5% to 275,459 units, the Malaysian Automotive Assn. says.

After six months, light-vehicle sales fell 14.7% to 244,357 units, with commercial-vehicle deliveries off 12.7% at 31,102.

The first half ended with a June result down fractionally to 57,358 units from 57,436 year-ago. The MIA says in a statement it expects July to be even lower, in part because of fewer selling days.

June new-car sales of 50,981 units were little changed from year-ago’s 50,604, while CV sales eased 5.4% to 5,337.

Manufacturers slashed production in response to the showroom slowdown.

The first-half light-vehicle build fell 19.7% to 262,963 units with car production sliding 20.2% to 241,009 and CV output down 14.1% at 21,954.

June saw production fall 20.2% to 40,928 units. The month’s car build dropped 23.7% to 35,744 units, while CV output improved 16.9% to 5,184.

Meantime, Maybank IB Research is raising its sales forecast for market leader Perodua for the next three years after the successful launch of its first-ever sedan, the Bezza.

In a report published in The Star newspaper, the research firm sees Perodua’s sales this year reaching 225,000 units, up from its previous prediction of 220,000. Next year’s forecast of 250,000 units is raised from 217,000 and the 2018 forecast is for 240,000, up from 205,000.

Perodua aims to sell about 38,000 Bezzas during the rest of the year. Maybank expects 30,000 deliveries this year, 84,000 next year and 70,000 in 2018.

The sedan, powered by a Toyota-sourced engine lineup, has three grades, Standard G, Premium X and Advance.

Despite the Bezza boost, Maybank expects Perodua’s total sales to climb between only 2% and 17%, citing some cannibalization of its Myvi model as well as slower sales of the dated Alza.

The ASEAN NCAP safety-testing program gave the top-end model Bezza five stars in its crash test as it scored 15.38 of 16 points in adult-occupant protection. The lower variants were rated four stars because they lack electronic stability control and a seatbelt reminder.