Malaysia's new vehicle market rebounded strongly in February, with total industry volumes rising by 12.1% to 42,455 units compared with depressed year-earlier sales of 37,874 units, based on data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
In the whole of 2016 the market declined by 13% to 580,123 units after six years of continuous growth – as the economic growth in the country continued to slow. GDP expanded by 4.2% last year,from 5% in 2015 and 6% in 2016, reflecting mainly declining exports and weak commodity prices.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Sales in the first two months of 2017 increased by just over 1% to 87,122 units, from 82,463 units in the same period of last year. Passenger vehicle sales were up by 7.0% at79,175 units in this period, while commercial vehicle sales were 6.1% lower at 7,947 units.
The association in January said it expects the domestic vehicle market to grow marginally this year, by less than 2% to 590,000 units, along with a moderate improvement in the economy.
