Malaysia March 2015: GST implementation pushes market up 14%

Honda leads foreign carmakers in Malaysia in March.

* See the Top 45 All-brands ranking by clicking on the title *

A new Goods & Service Tax (GST) implementation scheduled for April 1 resulted in a surge in forward purchases in Malaysia, pushing the market up 14% to 67,314 registrations, the highest monthly result in almost two years – since the 68,451 units registered in July 2013. The GST will be applied throughout the supply chain and not just at the end on the car itself, so the implications are complex and the prices are likely to move significantly (up and/or down), which partly explains why car buyers rushed to dealerships in March. The other reason explaining the surge is the unusual amount of discounts many carmakers had in place during March to try and entice car buyers that thought the GST increase would result in a drop in prices and were mulling deferring their purchase until April.

The brands ranking is extremely stable in March in Malaysia, with the Top 7 best-sellers remaining unchanged compared to February. If local manufacturers Perodua (33.4%) and Proton (15.6%) are slightly lower than their year-to-date levels, both Honda (14.2%) and Toyota (10.7%) fare significantly better.

Previous month: Malaysia February 2015: Honda leads foreign carmakers again

One year ago: Malaysia March 2014: Toyota close to 17% share

Full March 2015 Top 45 All-brands ranking below.