Malaysia May 2013: Market down 15% year-on-year

Ford Kuga. New model launches in June could help get the Malaysian new car market back on track. 

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For the second time in the last 4 months, the Malaysian new car market is in sharp decline year-on-year, this time down a worrying 15% on May 2012 to 49,634 registrations. The year-to-date total now stands at 259,857 units, still up by 6% over the same period in 2012, however the market was up 13% as of last month so if the monthly declines continue, this advantage will obviously be reduced further. Why are Malaysian new car sales slumping? Simple explanation.

Motor Trader says that “prior to the general elections in May, politicians made promises that should their party win, there will be a reduction in new car prices, something which Malaysians have long been unhappy about.” Now that the elections are complete, consumers are holding off the purchase of new cars, expecting the promised pride reductions to come into place any moment now. However the government still hasn’t applied any price cut. In fact, it appears that the government does not plan to reduce excise duties and expects the carmakers to lower their retail prices – while continuing to pay the high excise duties.

A very interesting situation indeed, added to this is the long-running decision my the Malaysian Automotive Association to refuse to share brands or models data for the Malaysian car market, and this since June last year, because the Competition Commissioner believes that sharing of detailed historical sales data would be an offence under the Malaysian Competition Act. The Act, intended to prevent price-fixing (among other things), suggests that sharing of data by car companies is an act of collusion and would put consumers at a disadvantage…

Previous month: Malaysia April 2013: Very healthy market up 19% year-on-year

One year ago: Malaysia May 2012: Proton Preve up to #7

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