Malaysia vehicle sales rise by 5% in July

Malaysia's new vehicle market expanded by 5.1% year-on-year to 73,615 units in July 2026, up from 70,057 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). The market last month continued to grow after rebounding by 32% in June, following weak sales in the previous month due to a high number of public holidays.

The vehicle market in recent months has been supported by strong growth in the country, which accelerated to 5.8% year-on-year in the second quarter, up from 5.4% in the first quarter, according to preliminary government data.

In the first seven months of 2026, the country's vehicle market expanded by 3.4% year-on-year to 458,968 units, up from 443,778 units in the same period last year, driven by a 4.6% rise in passenger vehicle sales to 430,535 units, while commercial vehicle sales declined by 12% to 28,433 units. Overall vehicle production in the country increased by 2% to 432,436 units in this period, from 424,065 units a year earlier.

Separate industry data show that sales of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) surged by 94% to 38,675 units in the first seven months of the year, led by Proton with 16,458 sales, followed by BYD with 7,146 units and Chery with 3,109 units.

Market leader Perodua's sales fell by almost 5% to 190,137 units year-to-date, according to local reports, despite the recent launch of the new Toyota Yaris Cross-based Traz compact SUV and the company's first BEV model, the QV-E.

Proton reported a 39% jump in global vehicle sales to 118,788 units in this period, from a weak level a year earlier, with the Saga by far its best-selling model with 52,189 units, followed by the Geely-based X50 compact SUV with 17,636 units and the battery-powered e.Mas 5 with 13,196 units.

Toyota's local sales declined by 9% to 62,413 units year-to-date, despite the recent introduction of the new Vios Hybrid and the updated Corolla Cross HEV models.

The MAA has raised its full-year 2026 total market forecast to 800,000 units, up from its previous forecast of 790,000 units, following the market's strong performance in the last two months. GlobalData is forecasting an almost 3% drop in light vehicle sales to 799,000 units this year, down from a record 827,000 units last year, with volumes expected to rise slightly to 797,000 units in 2027.

"Malaysia vehicle sales rise by 5% in July" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.