Malaysia’s new vehicle market declined by 2% to 63,906 units in February 2025 from 65,017 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). Compared with depressed sales in January, when sales plunged by 27% to 48,732 units due to the Lunar New Year holidays, the market rebounded by 31%.
In the first two months of the year the vehicle market declined by over 14% to 113,056 units, from 131,938 units in the same period last year, following a strong rebound from the pandemic lows in the last three years – with the market hitting a record high of 816,747 units in 2024. A pull-back in the market is therefore widely anticipated, despite still strong economic growth in the country. The latest government data showed year-on-year GDP growth of 4.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, down slightly from 5.3% in the third quarter.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Sales of passenger vehicles fell by 12% to 105,934 units year-to-date, while commercial vehicle sales plunged by 35% to 7,122 units. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales increased by 58% to 3,851 units in this period, helped by the recent launch of the Proton e.MAS7, while hybrid sales amounted to 2,249 units.
Total vehicle production in the country fell by 17% to 118,444 units in the two-month period.
Perodua continued to dominate the Malaysian market with local sales amounting to 54,627 units year-to-date, a 4% decline year-on-year.
Proton’s global sales fell by 20% to 21,146 units in the two-month period, including 1,000 units of its newly-launched e.MAS7 BEV. The Saga remained by far the company’s best-selling model – despite deliveries falling by 25% to 9,621 units; followed by the Geely-based X50 compact SUV with 3,260 units; and the Geely-based S70 sedan with 2,340 units. Overseas sales are estimated to have amounted to 390 vehicles in this period. The company confirmed that production of the Saga model began at its CKD plant in Egypt in the final week of February, with the aim of supplying markets across North Africa.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataUMW Toyota Motor’s two-month sales fell by almost 13% to 12,015 units.
