Malaysia’s new vehicle market expanded by 7% to 75,992 units in October 2025 from 71,022 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). The association said the market was lifted by a sharp rise in imported battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales ahead of the expiry of import and excise duty exemptions at the end of December.
The Malaysian economy expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025, up from 4.4% in the second quarter, driven mainly by stronger exports and government spending. Household spending growth moderated to 5.0% from 5.3%. The central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% in July to support the domestic economy, its first rate cut since it last hiked in April 2023.
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In the first ten months of 2025, the vehicle market declined by just under 2% to 655,328 units from a record high of 666,905 units in the same period last year, with light passenger vehicle sales falling by 1% to 606,443 units, while commercial vehicle sales dropped by 13% to 48,885 units. Total vehicle production in the country fell by 7% to 617,355 units in this period.
Separate industry data show that battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in the country surged almost threefold to 4,345 units in October, resulting in an 80% increase to 31,273units year-to-date, driven mainly by China’s BYD and its Denza brand with 11,010 units combined, the recently-launched Proton e.MAS7 with 6,954 sales, and Tesla with 4,166 units. Proton recently launched the smaller e.MAS 5 BEV, while Perodua is expected to enter this segment by the end of the year.
Market leader Perodua’s sales declined by 2% to 289,210 units in the first ten months of the year, in line with the overall vehicle market performance, with the Bezza and Axia its two best-selling models.
Proton’s global sales were slightly lower at 125,120 units year-to-date, including an estimated 4,560 exports. The Saga was by far its best-selling model with 57,079 sales, followed by the Geely-based X50 compact SUV with 22,175 units – with the all-new model launched in July.
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By GlobalDataUMW Toyota reported a 10% decline in wholesale deliveries to 79,559 units in this period, with the Vios and Hilux its best-selling models.
