New vehicle sales in Malaysia fell by 6.9% to 49,985 units in March from 53,718 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

The vehicle market continued to struggle to recover from the 13% volume drop to 580,124 units in 2016, with sales in 2017 falling by a further 0.6% to 576,635 units despite a strong rebound in economic activity in the country.

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GDP growth accelerated to 5.9% last year after a sharp slowdown to 4.3% in 2016.

First quarter sales fell by 4% at 135,140 units from 140,840 units in the same period of last year, driven lower by a 5.8% drop in passenger vehicle sales to 120,132 units.

The MAA said consumers remained cautious ahead of the country's general elections to be held in early May. 

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Sales of commercial vehicle sales were almost 13% higher at 15,008 units in the same period, reflecting strong growth in economic activity.

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The association still expects the overall market to grow by over 2% to 590,000 units this year, lifted by stronger demand in the second half of the year.

Vehicle production in the country was 0.9% higher at 49,796 units in March and more than 20% higher at 156,214 units in the first quarter of the year.