It is expected that the sales of vehicles in Malaysia will go down about 12.4 percent this year mainly because of the economical crisis that we suffer now. However, there are some sector under automotive market that will grow such as MPV market in Malaysia. This is due to our latest trend to own an MPV has become popular. Plus, with the new launch of Proton MPV on this April 2009 and Perodua MPV this year end will give us a new situation where there will be more MPV on the road soon with the more affordable price of MPV in Malaysia produced by Proton and Perodua.
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VEHICLE SALES DROP THIS YEAR – PROTON MPV IN APRIL, PERODUA MPV THIS YEAR END
from bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) — The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) expects total vehicle sales to drop by 12.4 percent this year to 480,000 units from 548,115 units last year due to the full impact of the global financial crisis, despite the carried-over orders from the strong performance of 2008.
The passenger and commercial vehicles segments are expected to fall 12.2 percent and 14.7 percent respectively.
Last year, Perodua maintained its top ranking for total vehicles sales with 30.5 percent market share, followed by Proton at 25.9 percent and non-national car Toyota at 18.5 percent.
MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said the forecast for 2009 was also based on other factors, including the expected moderation in the country’s growth to 3.5 percent this year from an estimated five percent and unfavourable consumer sentiment due to employment market uncertainties.
She said that also taken into account were economic uncertainties in inflation, fluctuations of oil and commodity prices, and unfavourable foreign exchange rates.
Aishah said the forecast also hinged on whether the government’s RM7 billion stimulus package was sufficient to boost the economy and create demand for new vehicles.
Therefore, she said, new models needed to be launched to help sustain buying interest.
Aishah said there would also be a further increase in demand for compact vehicles with consumers starting to downsize their purchases.
However, she said, the sales outlook for January 2009 is expected to be slightly better than December 2008, especially for passenger vehicles, due to the Chinese New Year festive season.
Malaysian vehicles sales are also expected to rise two percent and three percent respectively in 2010 and 2011, and grow five percent yearly in 2012 and 2013, she added.
Aishah said demand for multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) would also increase due to the change in Malaysian’s lifestyle to accommodate more passengers as well as the new seat-belt ruling, although car owners have been given a three-year grace period to adjust to it.
“I think the MPV market would go higher, especially with Proton expected to launch its version in April and Perodua MPV by year-end,” she said.
According to Aishah, the government will take the association’s view into consideration on the automotive policy as the industry was policy-driven.
“One slight change in the policy can affect the industry’s performance,” she said.
Aishah called on the lending institutions to be more lenient with vehicle buyers.
“We want loans from banks to be made easier,” she said, adding that the banks would scrutinise more closely applications in times of uncertainty.
Jom komen!