A total of 331,386 new vehicles were registered in the first half of 2022 (H1 2022), up 33% or 82,208 units from 249,178 units in the corresponding period of 2021.
Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Aishah Ahmad attributed the increase in the total industry volume (TIV) to the pent-up demand brought on by the implementation of the full movement control order (MCO) that took effect in 2021.
Aishah said the highest jump in TIV in the history of the automotive industry came in March when 73,244 vehicles were sold, accounting for an increase of 28,180 units, or 38.5%, over the 45,064 units sold in February.
She told a virtual press conference that the sharp increase in March could be due to the fact that it was a longer working month and that MAA members rushed to make deliveries before the close of their financial year on March 31.
“Another reason for the strong uptake in new vehicles was the government’s decision to not extend the sales tax exemption incentive for passenger vehicles (under the Pemerkasa+ package) after June 30, 2022,” Aishah said.
She added that this took the TIV in June past the 60,000 units mark at 63,366 units, making it the second highest monthly TIV achieved in H1 2022.
This was an increase of 12,732 units or 21% over the 50,634 vehicles sold in May.
Nonetheless, Aishah said, the TIV could have been higher if not for the shortages of chips and components that had affected certain makes.
Despite the shortages, the total production volume in H1 2022 increased by 31.8% to reach a total of 317,933 vehicles compared with 241,288 in H1 2021.
Of the 317,933 vehicles produced, commercial vehicles constituted 23,811 units or 8.1% of total volume.
In terms of sales, H1 2022 saw 293,540 passenger vehicles sold, out of which 494 units were electric vehicles (EVs). In 2021, only 278 EVs were sold.
Aishah said the easing of restrictions that allowed people to return to work also enabled automakers to raise production in H1 2022 to meet a surge in demand for new vehicles.
The MAA expects sales in July to match that in June. Thus far, a total of 57,063 passenger cars and 6,303 commercial vehicles have been sold.
“The various carmakers have been kept busy trying to deliver on bookings made during the sales tax exemption period while dealing with the shortages of chips and components,” Aishah said.
From January to May, a total of 265,656 vehicles, including 390 EVs, were sold in Malaysia, the third highest sales volume in Asean.
Indonesia topped the list with 396,153 vehicles sold while Thailand ranked second with 374,803 vehicles.
However, in terms of EVs sold, Indonesia recorded 363 units while Thailand saw 15,452 sold, making it a leader in the region.
Perodua maintained its lead in terms of market share for sales for H1 2022 with 127,343 units or 38.4% of market share.
In the same period, Proton placed second after selling 56,352 units for a market share of 17.3%.
Toyota out-sold Honda by 5,776 units at 33,705 units to secure a 13.7% market share while Honda sold 39,673 units to garner a 12% share of the pie.
Lastly, Mitsubishi, sold 12,621 vehicles to achieve 3.1% market share to round off the top five best-selling makes in the country.