Malaysia's new vehicle market expanded to 14% to 53,870 units in October from 47,273 units in the same month of last year, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
The market looks to be normalising after declining sharply in the June-August period compared with strong year earlier data – when sales were lifted by a three month sales tax holiday introduced at the beginning of June 2018
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Sales of passenger vehicles jumped 15.6% year on year to 48,987 units in October while commercial vehicles sales were slightly lower at 4,883 units.
Total vehicle sales in the first 10 months of the year declined by just over 1% to 496,861 units from 502,128 units previously, with passenger vehicle sales up by 1.3% at 453,107 units and commercial vehicle sales down 20% at 43,754 units.
Total vehicle production in the country increased by 2% to 481,816 units year to date from 472,267 units in the same period of last year.
Proton sales, including exports, almost doubled to 9,503 units in October from a year earlier, reflecting strong demand for the Geely-based X70 SUV launched at the end of last year and the recent launch of the new Saga small car which alone accounted for 45% of total deliveries last month.
In the first 10 months of the year, the brand's sales increased by 46% to 79,833 units, leaving the company confident total deliveries would exceed 100,000 this year.
