MAA: Car sales down 15% in May from a year ago

PETALING JAYA: Vehicle sales contracted 15% to 42,983 units in May against 50,594 units in the same month last year, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
On a month-on-month basis, the sales were down by 9% or 4,106 units, due to market uncertainty following the announcement of the zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST).
“Many customers were holding back on the purchase and registration of new vehicles,” MAA said in a statement today.
Nonetheless, it expects vehicle sales to pick up in June on the back of zero-rated GST as well as promotional campaigns and offers in conjunction with Hari Raya.
For the first five months of 2018, vehicles sales declined 3.8% to 225,212 units from 234,180 units in the same period of 2017.