March car sales increase due to new models, better sales and longer working month. Read the detail news from Business Times by By Goh Thean Eu below:
CAR SALES IN MALAYSIA PICK UP IN MARCH
After a lacklustre performance in February, Malaysia’s vehicle sales improved last month.
The industry will probably do better this month as government measures start to work.
New car sales rose by a fifth to 44,205 units in March from 36,675 sold in February.
The increase was driven by new models, better sales of light commercial vehicles and a longer working month compared with February.
However, the March sales are still 5 per cent lower than the 46,436 units sold in the previous corresponding month.
“Sales volume for this month is expected to be better than March following the announcement of the government’s second stimulus package,” the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said in its monthly sales and production data released yesterday in Kuala Lumpur.
Under the second stimulus package, a RM5,000 discount is given for the trade-in of cars which are at least 10 years old for new Proton or Perodua cars.
The MAA is maintaining its view that new car sales will hit 480,000 units by the year-end. Last year saw sales of 548,115 units.
In the first three months of the year, new car sales fell 9 per cent to 118,681 units.
Passenger cars accounted for 107,593 units and commercial vehicles, 11,088.
Despite the decline, the good news was that not all segments were affected.
Sales of window vans, pick-up trucks and prime movers rose between 14.55 per cent and 19.4 per cent.
Segments such as multi-purpose vehicles, four-wheel drive/sport utility vehicles and buses were the biggest losers. Sales in January-March fell by at least 27 per cent.
Sales in March exceeded the production of 35,950 units.
In the January-March period, overall production fell 14 per cent to 114,009 units. a
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