The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) attributed the heightened total industry volume (TIV) in March to the fulfilment of bookings made during the sales tax-exemption period, rush for deliveries by companies having their financial year ending on March 31, and Hari Raya promotional campaigns.

The previous record, set in December 2022, was 76,657 units.

March sales raised this year’s TIV to 192,474 units, up 20% from 159,846 units in the same period last year.

Total vehicle production was also up 19.23% to 76,069 units in March from 63,798 units in February.

Year-to-date, production has increased 28.69% from 154,160 units to 198,394 units compared to the same period last year.

However, sales are expected to slow down in April due to the shorter working month following the Hari Raya holidays, MAA said.

It had already been expected that sales would temporarily rise in the first quarter due to the backlog of orders made during the sales tax-exempt period.

Earlier this year, MAA had forecast sales for 2023 to slow down by 9.8% to 650,000 units.

However, with many new electric vehicles and other car models set to be released this year, there is a possibility that sales may stay surprisingly strong throughout the year.