KUALA LUMPUR: Sales of total industry vehicles (TIV), which comprise passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, rose 6% to 44,669 units in May from a month ago, a trade body said as it expects June to record higher sales.

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said today that the 44,669 units sold in May comprised 38,699 passenger vehicles and 5,970 commercial vehicles.

While the 6% on-month increase accounted for 2,492 units, this was a decline from a year ago. May sales fell 12.8% or 6,583 units.

For the January-May period, sales were 218,101 vehicles of which 193,953 were passenger vehicles and the remaining 24,148 units were commercial vehicles. This was a 17.6% decline from the 264,818 units in the previous corresponding period.

“Sales volume for June 2016 is expected to be better than May due to the Hari Raya festive season sales campaign by car companies and the introduction of new models,” said the MAA.

The MAA said vehicle production in May also declined, slipping 6.6% to 47,650 units from 51,024 units a year ago. For the five months to May, production fell 19.6% to 222,035 units from 276,355 in the previous corresponding period.