New vehicle sales in Malaysia dropped sharply in April, by over 23% or 45,187 units from 58,741 units a year earlier, according to data gathered by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
The decline follows an abnormal spike in sales in March, when volumes increased by over 14% as dealers offered discounts to smoothen the transition to the new goods and services tax at the beginning of April.
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Consumer sentiment has also become more cautious, reflecting the recent decline in the value of the Malaysian ringgit which is driving up inflation.
Passenger vehicles sales fell by over 22% to 40,902 units in April, from 52,496 units a year earlier, while commercial vehicle sales plunged over 31% to 4,285 units from 6,245 units.
In the first four months of the year vehicle sales were down by 2.4% at 213,493 units, from 218,654 units in the same period of last year.
