The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) have released sales figures for June, which shows a profound drop for commercial vehicles when compared to May 2021, although a 60% increase when compared to the year-to-date figures for June 2020.
A Market Struggling with a Total Lockdown
As Covid cases in Malaysia have risen, so has the response from the government. Following on from the third Movement Control Order (MCO), the government imposed a total lockdown, which is why commercial vehicle sales reached only 80, with some registrations spilling over from May. Contrasting with May’s 4,675, the market has been left to wait out the current total lockdown imposed by the government as Malaysia tackles a worsening situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is especially difficult as the automotive sector is not deemed an essential industry. In more positive figures, the year-to-date figures for commercial vehicle sales have hit 25,291, which is close to a 10,000 increase on last year’s 15,835.
Production has naturally taken a knock with just 30 commercial vehicles made during the month, compared to 2,363 in May 2021. Once again, however, the 2021 year-to-date sales are far healthier than the year before with 17,516 vehicles produced against 8,875 last year, producing a close to 100% increase.
The MAA has predicted of July that sales will be minimal, in part because only Sabah has open showrooms, based on the government’s National Recovery Plan Phase 2. In both Selangor and various parts of Kuala Lumpur, vehicle assembly plants and component manufacturers will not be allowed to operate during the enhanced MCO, indicating that until the restrictions are lifted, the market will have to patiently wait out the current uncertainty linked to the pandemic.
