January 2021 Malaysian vehicle sales down by 52.3%

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has released vehicle sales date for the month of January 2021. A total of 32,829 units were delivered last month, which was 36,007 units or 52.3% less than the 68,836 units sold in December 2020. The month’s sales were also 10,113 units – or 23.5% – lower than the corresponding period last year, in which 42,942 units were shifted.

The association attributed the sales performance drop in January to a number of reasons. The first was that traffic volume to showrooms had been impacted by the reimplemented movement control order (MCO) that began on January 13, this despite car showrooms being allowed to open during the period.

Another reason was that most sales had been brought forward to December ahead of the anticipated end to the SST on December 31 (which didn’t happen), resulting in lower stocks in January for some companies. The association also cited the shutdown of some parts suppliers’ operations due to Covid-19, which left some companies short on components as a result, as another reason for the sales dip.

The association is projecting that the sales volume in February will be lower than last month, due to the short working month. The flip-flop decision to first allow, then omit, vehicle production and component manufacturing at the start of the MCO, before then giving the green light again on January 16 for automotive assembly and manufacturing activities to resume will no doubt also have an impact on production.

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