Malaysia leads ASEAN car sales

Malaysia leads ASEAN car sales

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian new vehicle sales in the first half of this year were the highest in Southeast Asia, a trade association said on Wednesday.

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), which represents distributors, said 163,721 vehicles were sold against 129,722 in the first half of 1999, a 26 percent rise.

Aishah Ahmad, MAA president, said the figure was the highest among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"With a total of 163,721 units, Malaysia is ahead of Indonesia with 126,944 units while Thailand is a close third at 122,933 units," she said.

The Malaysian economy is growing rapidly and consumer confidence is gradually returning after the severe 1998 recession.

Sales of new cars in Malaysia in the first half rose 25.5 percent to 134,078 from 106,840 a year earlier.

Sales of "national cars" - Proton and Perodua accounted for 123,318 while sales of imports stood at 10,760.

The association predicted car sales for the full year at 290,000. Although growth was expected to stabilize in existing models, Proton's new Waja model was due to be released later this year.

Its full-year forecast for total vehicle sales is 350,000.

The association said vehicle sales in the last two months suggest that demand is stabilizing as a result of a 10-15 percent price increase and an uncertain outlook for the stock market.

Proton first-half car sales totaled 87,115 for a market share of 65 percent, compared to 70,126 for a market share of 66 percent a year earlier, the association said.

Perodua achieved sales of 36,203 compared to 28,223 a year earlier. Its market share increased to 27 percent from 26 percent.

Aishah said overall production of vehicles in the first half rose 30 percent to 175,100. But the industry achieved only 64 percent of its production capacity of 274,050 units over the six months.

Asked if the industry is ready for liberalization of the market in 2005 under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), Aishah said: "From all indications, it looks as though it is."