The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has released the official total industry volume (TIV) for the year 2014. A total of 666,465 units were sold, a slight increase from 2013’s 655,793 units.
It wouldn’t have been so if not for December, which ended up with the highest monthly figure of the year with 64,660 units, a year-on-year growth of 6.9% over the 60,493 units quoted for December 2013. Aggressive promotional campaigns by car brands were behind the increase.
Who sold what in 2014? Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI) showed us the pie at its 2014/15 review earlier this month. Perodua recorded a market share of 29.4% (195k units), ahead of Proton’s 17.4% (115k units), which adds up to a combined market share of 46.8%.
It means that non-national automakers now command a dominant share of the Malaysian market, the first time this has happened. Toyota leads the non-national charge, but Honda was the biggest gainer in 2014 thanks to the City and Jazz. See the pie here.
As bright as the future looks, MAA has predicted a slump in sales for the month of January this year, citing “excessive year-end offers given by car companies in December 2014.” However, performance is expected to improve in February with the introduction of promotional campaigns for the Chinese New Year celebrations.
For 2015, MAI has forecasted TIV figures to break the 700,000-unit barrier, representing a leap of 5% over 2014’s figure. The think-tank is also predicting a reverse in the national vs non-national race, 52% in favour of the local players. MAA’s 2015 TIV forecast is 680,000 units.
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AI-generated Summary ✨
The comments reflect significant dissatisfaction with Malaysia’s car industry and policies, criticizing Proton’s ongoing losses, alleged protectionism, and high car prices caused by government support for Proton. Many commenters believe Proton’s failure has hurt the economy, led to loss of jobs, and caused Malaysia’s automotive industry to stagnate or move abroad. There’s skepticism about official sales figures, predictions of declining sales due to economic downturn, and concerns over high household debt. Some comments praise non-national brands like Honda and Toyota for offering reliable, fuel-efficient cars at lower prices, criticizing Proton’s perceived poor quality. Overall, sentiments are mostly negative towards Proton, government protectionism, and high car prices, with a call to end Proton’s support and open the market to more manufacturers.