JUST like most industries, the used car market in Malaysia was also severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market saw a rebound in sales following government incentives.
Year-on-year (yoy), used car sales in June 2020 surged more than 100%. In July 2020, used car sales in rose 30% on a month-on-month (mom) basis compared to June while it increased 20% yoy.
“The growth in Malaysian used car market has even surprised the used car dealers themselves, especially for cars that are below RM30,000, out of KL, they’re doing very well and high in demand,” said the president of Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) Datuk Aishah Ahmad.
To recap, President of Federation of Motor and Credit Companies Association of Malaysia (FMCCAM) Datuk Tony Khor Chong Boon commented in 2018 that despite the sales increase of new cars for the past 15 years, the used car market has remained unmoved.
The used car market has remained stagnant with about 400,000 units sold annually, whereas sales of new cars are reaching 600,000 units.
“Malaysia is the only country where used cars are not selling like hot cakes while in the US, used car sales double the sales of new ones. In Europe, sales of these second-hand cars are twice the number of brand-new cars, while Japan’s used car segment is 1.5 times more than new cars,” Khor elaborated.
Additionally, a 2015 analysis by Frost & Sullivan entitled Strategic Insight into Used-Car Market in Malaysia expected the used-car sales volumes to fall from 394,000 units in 2014 to 300,700 units in 2020.
The used car market definitely did not see a downward trend in 2020. What helped to spur the sales of used cars is that the pandemic dissuades people from venturing out and travelling in public transport for fear of contracting COVID-19 by sharing public and confined space with others.
In recent years, an increasing number of vehicle buyers are relying on the online platform to decide what cars to buy, thus, various car-selling platforms such as mudah.my, motortrader.com, carlist.my and carsome.my and myTukar.com were birthed to transform the used car industry in Malaysia through digitalisation.
Moreover, the pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of digitalisation of the automotive retail.
On the same note, with the increased demand for used cars nationwide, there is a rise in online trading among East Malaysians. Thus, myTukar Sdn Bhd – one of Malaysia’s fastest-growing online used car trading platform – recently announced its expansion into East Malaysia with the first two myTukar inspection hubs located at Kuching, Sarawak and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
“Currently, only an estimated 26% of used car dealers in East Malaysia are conducting their transactions online,” MyTukar CEO Fong Hon Sum pointed out.
“As myTukar’s mission is to simplify the process of selling used cars through digitalisation within our online platform, we believe that it is the right time to enter the currently untapped East Malaysian market.”
Fong added the ongoing 2,325km Pan Borneo Highway which is due for completion in 2023 will make road travel safer and more comfortable for 3.74 million people.
This mega development project would have multiplier effects on the economy, including the automotive market and the current estimated 369 used car dealers in both Sabah and Sarawak.
To date, myTukar’s extensive 2,000-strong dealership network has transacted over 27,000 vehicles with an estimated value of RM805 mil.
In December 2020, the online used car trading platform became the first within the used car market in Malaysia to be awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 Certification for Quality Management Systems.
“The innovative myTukar platform is able to provide the needful support to used car dealers in East Malaysia, thus ultimately helping to increase sales for the dealers through a speedy, efficient and cost-effective ecosystem.” – Jan 10, 2021
