November Malaysia Sales Flat; 2016 Outlook Bullish

Malaysia’s new-vehicle sales edged up 1.4% in November to 56,092 units as buyers headed to the salesrooms before expected price hikes in the new year.

The result left the year-to-date total at 597,273 units, down 0.08% from prior-year at 601,827.

The Malaysian Automotive Assn. says November sales were helped by aggressive year-end promotional campaigns.

MAA data shows new-car sales for the month rose 1.7% to 49,348 units and commercial-vehicle deliveries up 52 at 6,744.

With one month to go, new-car sales in the Southeast Asian country of 530,166 units were down fractionally from a year-ago 532,825 units and CV sales were off 2.7% at 67,104.

Malaysian manufacturers produced 40,203 units in November, up 5.9% year-on-year, with the car build up 6.7% to 45,747 units and CV output down 1.8% at 4,456.

After 11 months, new-car output was up 4.8% to 522,712 units and CV assemblies almost unchanged at 46,622, down six units from a year earlier.

MAA says it is not expecting an end-of-year rush, instead predicting December sales will remain at November levels. However, it also foresees some degree of buying forward by consumers in anticipation of prices rising in 2016.

National car company Proton is among the automakers considering price increases, citing the weakening of the local ringgit currency. CEO Abdul Harith Abdullah says Proton is feeling the impact of the fallen ringgit because of the raw materials purchased in foreign currency.

He says Proton has put more effort into reducing operational costs, but this is not enough.

“We are evaluating our price structure and the percentage of the price increase will depend on the models,” Abdullah says in a statement. “The price increase is seen as an industry situation.”

Meanwhile, a senior industry official says Malaysia’s automotive sector will see a more competitive environment next year as new investments under the government’s national automotive policy set in.

Malaysian Automotive Institute CEO Madani Sahari says this will result not only in higher production volume but also in added local value to the automotive workforce, business owners and technology developers as well as the consumer.

Madani pegs Malaysian sales this year at between 640,000 and 660,000, indicating the industry has managed to remain stable despite the challenging global economic climate. MAI’s forecast for 2016 is for domestic sales of 680,000 to 700,000 units with local production of 600,000 to 620,000 units.