Slower car sales for Malaysia amid easing orders: analysts

Kuala Lumpur: Hong Leong Investment Bank said in a note on Wednesday that it expects Malaysia s total industry volume (TIV) for 2025 to normalize down...

Kuala Lumpur: Hong Leong Investment Bank said in a note on Wednesday that it expects Malaysia's total industry volume (TIV) for 2025 to normalize down to a 750,000-unit level, after achieving a record high of 816,700 units in 2024, mainly due to declining order backlogs and easing new order intakes over the coming months.

"Nevertheless, there is still upside potential from exciting new model launches in 2025, along with more aggressive marketing activities to sustain sales by the various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), but at the expense of margins," said the research house.

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) announced earlier that TIV registered an expected weak 60,500 units, a drop of 16.8 percent month-on-month in April, affected by fewer working days during the month.

Despite the ongoing aggressive sales campaigns by various OEMs, year-to-date TIV (January to April) still fell 5.4 percent to 248,700 units, affected by the market normalization trend with lower order backlogs.

MAA projected Malaysia's TIV to be at 780,000 units this year.