Vehicle sales volume in July grew 13% to 57,552 from 50,854 a year earlier, said the Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA).
Passenger vehicle sales increased 13%, while commercial vehicle sales soared 16% to 5,433 from 4,665.
Month-on-month, the country’s vehicle sales jumped 29% over June’s 44,695 units, said MAA, attributing the spike to impressive sales figures for the month to the sales tax exemption incentives for vehicles, aggressive marketing campaigns conducted by car companies as well as a longer working month.
Prime Minster Muhyiddin Yassin announced on June 5 that the government will be granting a sales tax exemption for locally-assembled or completely knocked-down (CKD) cars and 50% for imported or completely built-up (CBU) cars from June 15 to Dec 31.
Moving forward, MAA said it expects sales in August to be maintained at July’s levels, buoyed by the ongoing sales tax exemption and attractive promotional campaigns by car companies.
Meanwhile, the country’s vehicle production experienced a slight dip of 3% to 47,631 for the month compared to the 48,912 vehicles produced last July.
Production was more negatively impacted year-to-date as the movement control order shut production lines. Total vehicles produced since the beginning of the year stood at 213,680, which is 36% lower compared to the 333,552 units recorded in the same period last year.
