New vehicle sales in Malaysia increased by close to 21% to 55,358 units in October, compared with 53,615 units sold a year earlier, according to data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). 

The association attributed the sales increase to positive consumer sentiment, new models and a longer working month than last year.

Cumulative sales for the first ten months of 2012 rose by 2% to 513,805 units, compared with 503,859 units in the same period of last year.