Malaysia’s new vehicle market declined by 12% year-on-year to 61,250 units in May 2026 units, reflecting fewer working days during the month due mainly to religious holidays, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). Sales of passenger vehicles declined by 11% to 57,360 units, while commercial vehicles sales dropped 26% to 3,890 units.
In the first five months of 2026, the country’s vehicle market declined by 1% to 315,568 from 319,846 units in the same period last year, including 295,778 passenger vehicles and 19,790 commercial vehicles. Vehicle production in the country fell by 4% to 287,477 units in this period, from 300,559 units a year earlier.
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The latest economic data show GDP growth slowed to 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, down from a peak of 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025, with domestic consumption growth slowing moderately. Consumer sentiment, while still strong, has become more cautious in the last few months due to rising concerns over inflation and geopolitical developments in the Middle East.
Market leader Perodua’s sales fell by over 9% to 130,778 units in the first five months of 2026, according to local reports, despite the recent launch of the new Toyota Yaris Cross-based Traz compact SUV and the company’s first BEV model, the QV-E.
Proton reported a 38% jump in global vehicle sales to 84,294 units year-to-date from weak year-earlier levels, with the Saga by far its best-selling model with 37,375 units, followed by the Geely-based X50 compact SUV with 12,967 units and the battery-powered e.Mas 5 with 9,357 units.
Toyota’s registrations amounted to 40,886 units in the five-month period, helped by the recent introduction of the new Vios Hybrid and the updated Corolla Cross HEV models.
The MAA said it expects sales to rebound in June, due mainly to the timing of this year’s annual holidays. GlobalData forecasts a more than 6% drop in light vehicle sales to 773,000 units in the whole of 2026, down from record sales of 827,000 units last year, with volumes rising slightly to 781,000 units in 2027.
