New vehicle sales in Malaysia declined by 25.2% to 40,948 units in January, from 54,781 units a year earlier, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
Passenger vehicle sales fell by 25.7% to 36,864 units, while commercial vehicle sales were down 21.1% at 4,084 units.
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The association attributed the weaker market to tighter credit criteria imposed by lenders, a shorter working month due to the early Lunar New Year holidays and to ongoing inventory shortages following last quarter’s floods in Thailand.
Local banks tightened lending criteria at the beginning of the year as instructed by the central bank, which wants to prevent consumer debt from spiraling out of control. This is expected to affect customers at the budget end of the market most, with Proton and Perodua to come off worst.
