Vehicle sales rose 23% in February

PETALING JAYA: Vehicle sales in February rose 23.3% to 38,587 units from 31,284 units in the corresponding month last year, according to Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

It said in a statement yesterday that passenger cars accounted for 35,474 units and the balance 3,113 were commercial vehicles. However, compared with January, February vehicle sales were down 15.8% due to a shorter working month.

Recent launches of new models, including Proton Saga cited for revival of sales

MAA said vehicle production in February rose almost 63% to 41,808 units from 25,686 a year earlier. Of the total output of 41,808 units, it said 38,056 were passenger vehicles and the rest were commercial vehicles.

On its outlook for this month, MAA said it expected sales to improve from February due to a full working month and the introduction of new models.

M&A Securities head of research Wee Kim Hong said vehicle sales would be much better this year compared with 2007 due to the launch of new models at cost-effective prices.

“There is still a high demand for new cars as many people are looking for replacements but at budget prices,” he said, attributing the revival of the year-on-year vehicle sales to the recent launches of the new Proton Saga and Toyota Vios.