New vehicle sales in Malaysia declined by close to 12% to 44,591 units in January, from 50,602 units in the same month of last year, according to data compiled by the Malaysian Automotive Association.

The market was also down by over 20% month-on-month, or 11,501 units lower than December 2015, reflecting heavy end-of-year discounting which resulted in buyers bringing sales forward. 

Passenger vehicle sales fell by 10.6% to 40,000 last month, from 44,697 units previously, while commercial vehicle sales more than 22% lower at 4,591 units, from 5,905 units.