While there was a belief that the continued increase in the Total Industry Volume (TIV) of new vehicles sold in Malaysia over the past two years could not be sustained, and the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) set a lower TIV for 2024, sales are still strong.
During the first half of 2024 (H1 2024), the TIV was 390,296 units, a 6.6% (24,120 units) increase over the 366,176 units for the same period last year.
The growth, however, was for passenger vehicles as the commercial vehicle segment (which includes pick-up trucks) showed a decline of 15.3%.
The MAA is optimistic that this increase will continue through the second half of the year and has revised its forecast for 2024. At the beginning of the year, its forecast was 740,000 units (of which 666,000 would be passenger vehicles); now it has announced a new forecast of 765,000 units or 3.3% more. The new forecast is, however, still below the record TIV achieved in 2023 which was 799,731 units.
The association said that some of the factors contributing to the higher TIV in H1 2024 include a resilient domestic economy; stable socio-political environment; and stable employment market.
There were also outstanding orders which were fulfilled with assembly plants having consistent and high output.
Additionally, there have been new models being launched every month – especially EVs – which have maintained, if not increased, buying interest.
The following charts by the MAA provide an overview of the market performance in H1 2024:
