PETALING JAYA: Total vehicle sales rose 14% to 53,870 units last month from 47,273 units in the previous corresponding period, buoyed by year-end promotional campaigns.
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said in a statement on Wednesday that October’s longer working month (compared with September) also helped to boost sales.
On a month-on-month basis, the total industry volume (TIV) in October was 21%, or 9,204 units, higher than September, said the MAA.
However, year-to-date October vehicle sales dropped 1% to 496,861 units from 502,128 units in the previous corresponding period.
On its outlook for November, the MAA said vehicle sales were expected to be maintained at the same level as October’s.
An analyst from a local bank-backed brokerage said the vehicle sales figures in August were within expectations.
“As it gets closer to the end of the year, it is normal for car companies to provide rebates and incentives to push sales and clear their inventory, ” he said.
In an earlier report, MIDF Research said it expected October to be a better sales month, compared with September, driven by the launch of Perodua’s Axia facelift.
“Perodua TIV saw a decline month-on-month (slightly larger than industry) ahead of the launch of the facelift Axia towards late September.
“The new Axia should reflect in Perodua sales from October onwards. The facelift Axia was reported to have garnered 5,000 units of pre-launch bookings versus a sales target of 6,000 units per month.
“We expect some pick up in October as well as the typical year-end campaigns towards the final month of the year, ” the research house said.
The MAA has maintained its 600,000 units total industry volume (TIV) forecast for this year, in light of the economic uncertainties that are expected to remain for the rest of the year.
In July, MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said consumers and businesses were expected to remain cautious going into the second half of the year, adding that this would only spur aggressive promotional campaigns by local car companies. Most analysts are also maintaining their TIV forecast for 2019.
Kenanga Research in a recent report also said it is maintaining its TIV forecast of 600,000 units for 2019.
“We believe the absence of one-off 2018 tax holiday will be offset by exciting new launches in 2019 and we have factored in a possible delay in new launches’ timing given the backlog of pricing approvals from the authorities and tepid purchasing power.”
