Malaysian vehicle sales jump in March ahead of GST

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian vehicle sales jumped to 67,314 units in March 2015, which was an increase of 33.6% from February ahead of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1.

According to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) on Friday, this was the second highest monthly sales since July 2013 where sales volume had then surged to 68,451 units.

“The surge was due to very attractive offers and incentives given by car companies to clear stocks prior to the implementation of the GST,” it said.

Of the 67,314 units sold in March, the MAA said 59,318 were passenger vehicles and the remaining 7,996 commercial vehicles.

Compared with a year ago, there was a 14.2% increase from the 58,924 units in March 2014.

For the January to March period, vehicle sales totalled 168,306 units, an increase of 5.2% from the 159,913 units in the previous corresponding period.

Production of vehicles in March increased to 60,085 units from 50,382 units a year ago.

On the outlook for April, the MAA said it expected sales to be lower compared to March when consumers were buying forward prior to the implementation of the GST.

“Moving forward with GST already being implemented, we expect the market to normalize,” said the MAA.