Car Sales Start to Show Minor Signs of Recovery Following June’s Noticeable Slump

After a crippling June with the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) dominating Malaysian industry, the latest figures from the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) show a cautious increase in production and sales against June 2021's standpoint.

Passenger Sales Make Tentative Recovery

At just 1,841 sale units, passenger vehicles in June suffered a significant depression. With July’s figures close to 5,000 sales, the market is slowly increasing in volume and confidence, although the market is still nowhere close to the 53,415 vehicles sold in July 2020. The recovery is coming mainly from Sabah and Sarawak where showcases are still allowed to operate under the second phase of the National Recovery Plan, whereas online registrations are currently showing minimal sales. Currently, with the year-to-date for 2021, there has been a minor increase in sales, with 228,787 compared to 211,125 in 2020 representing an 8% improvement.

Production has also recovered from the lowly 246 figure in June, with a near 1000% increase, to 2,396. Naturally, however, this still pales to this time last year, with 2020 having 44,827 vehicles produced. As for the sales figures, the year-to-date figures for 2021 are a little higher than this time last year, with 226,168 compared to 202,002.

The MAA predict a positive forecast for August based on increasing vaccination rates for staff members and showrooms in key states, such as Selangor and WP Kuala Lumpur able to open if they fulfil standard operating procedures, put in place by the Malaysian Government.