Malaysia’s new vehicle market rebounded by 27% to 64,298 units in January 2026, from weak year-earlier sales of 50,449 units, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). The market benefited from additional working days last month compared with last year due to the timing of the Lunar New Year, which this year fell in February.
The vehicle market in January was also supported by the registration of a high number of vehicles bought before the end of 2025, following the launch of a number of new locally produced models and aggressive year-end promotions by dealers. Consumer sentiment has strengthened in recent months, which is reflected in a pickup in economic growth in the country to 6.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, from 5.4% growth in the third quarter, driven by much stronger domestic consumption, investment and exports. In the whole of 2025, the economy expanded by a much faster than expected 5.2% in 2025, albeit up just slightly on the 5.1% growth seen in 2024.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Light passenger vehicle sales rose by 28% year-on-year to 60,369 units in January, while commercial vehicle sales increased by 15% to 3,929 units. Separate industry data shows battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales rose to 6,239 units, compared with 1,691 units a year earlier, with sales of the recently launched Proton eMas 5 amounting to 3,068 units, followed by the Geely Zeekr 7X with 426 units, and the BYD Atto 3 with 389 units.
Vehicle production in the country rose by 6% to 60,866 units last month, compared with 57,450 units a year earlier.
Malaysia’s vehicle market is expected to weaken in February, due mainly to the timing of this year’s Lunar New Year holidays. GlobalData is forecasting a 3.2% drop in light vehicle sales to 801,000 units in the whole of 2026, followed by a further decline to 787,000 units in 2027, after record sales of 847,000 units in 2025.
Market leader Perodua’s sales increased by 12% to 26,130 units in January, according to local reports. The automaker launched the new Traz compact SUV, based on the Toyota Yaris Cross, and its first BEV model, the QV-E, in December.
Proton reported a 35% jump in global vehicle sales to 19,833 units last month, with the Saga by far its best-selling model with 10,285 units, followed by the battery-powered eMas 5 with a reported 3,068 units and the Geely-based X50 compact SUV with 2,429 units.
UMW Toyota reported an almost 23% rise in wholesale deliveries to 6,598 units in January, with the Vios and Hilux its best-selling models.
