PETALING JAYA: Car sales are expected to jump in the next two or three months, as the country enjoys a “tax holiday” following the zero rating of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from June 1 onwards.

On Friday, Tun Daim Zainuddin, who is part of the Council of Emi­nent Persons, said the Sales and Services Tax (SST) is only expected to be reintroduced in the next two to three months.

Malaysian Automotive Associa­tion (MAA) president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said she foresees a surge in car sales as this would be the best time for people to buy cars.

“Car companies that have stocks in hand will benefit the most, as bear in mind that building cars will take time,” said Aishah.

She also highlighted that car pri­ces had dropped following the implementation of GST three years ago, as “SST was 10% versus GST of 6%”.



Many automobile companies such as Proton, Perodua and Mazda have announced zero-rated GST prices, and the savings for car buyers are substantial.

For example, Perodua is offering GST rebates of RM2,172 for a 1.0-litre Axia SE (auto) and RM3,114 for the best-selling 1.5-litre Myvi Advance.

Also, Perodua will fully reimburse the GST amount in cash to those who buy a new Perodua car, service their cars or buy parts between May 18 and 31, 2018.

Meanwhile, Proton customers can choose to get either service vouchers or a cash rebate that are equivalent in value to the diffe­rence between the pre- and post-GST prices for cars bought and registered from May 16 to 31.

“There is now no reason to wait until June 1 to buy a new Proton as we have delivered the savings ahead of time,” said Proton vice-­president of sales and marketing Abdul Rashid Musa.



Honda Malaysia has also announced a GST Bonus scheme and “Welcome Ramadan Rewards” bonus for selected cars from May 18 till 31.

Attractive offers include savings of up to RM9,042 for a 1.5-litre Honda City V grade, and up to RM10,628 for a top-grade HR-V.

Toyota car buyers would also enjoy significant savings with zero-rated GST prices, with savings of around RM6,500 for a 2.4-litre Hilux double cab pick-up truck (auto) and close to RM5,000 for a 1.5-litre Vios G grade.

UMW Toyota Motor president Ravindran K said that any relief and benefit from the new tax structure will be fully passed on to its custo­mers.



Buyers of premium European cars such as Volkswagen and BMW would enjoy even higher savings, with pre- and post-GST price diffe­rences as high as RM69,882 for a BMW X6 M that costs RM1.238mil with GST included.

The price of the 1.4-litre turbocharged Volkswagen Jetta (Highline grade) has dropped by around RM7,500 to RM121,488 while a BMW 118i Sport has dipped by RM9,991 to RM166,808.

Nissan and Subaru vehicle distributors have also announced price protection schemes for their customers.

TC Subaru Sdn Bhd has stated that unregistered as well as new bookings of all Subaru vehicle mo­dels will be price-protected from May 11 till Aug 18, 2018.

If there are price hikes before registration of any booked Subaru cars due to changes in the tax regime, TC Subaru will honour the original, lower price.

Conversely, if prices drop, TC Subaru customers will get service vouchers equal in value to the price difference (up to a limit of RM3,000).

Edaran Tan Chong Motor sales and marketing director Christopher Tan had said that beginning this month, Nissan car buyers will get a refund for the differences in prices, if prices for their new vehicles drop after GST is abolished.

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