MAA announces sales figures for 2009, forecasts positive 2010
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) yesterday held a press conference at their office in Petaling Jaya, unveiling overall performance of the country’s automotive industry for 2009, and then looking forward with their forecasts for 2010.
When 2008 drew to a close, many analysts had then predicted 2009 to be a slump year for the various auto players, not just in Malaysia, but worldwide. Against that gloomy backdrop, the auto players were more than happy to accept a mere 2.0% decline in sales figures from 2008 to 2009.
The total industry volume (TIV) of new motor vehicles registered reached an all-time high of 548,115 for 2008. MAA’s original projections for 2009’s TIV was a modest 480,000 units, which they then revised upwards to 500,000 units in July 2009. So, a final figure of 536,905 vehicles sold in 2009 does not seem very bad at all does it?
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| TIV 2009 vs 2008 – by month (Illustration by MAA) |
Based on MAA’s figures, the contributing factor of a stronger than expected 2009 sales was improved demand during the latter parts of the year, which MAA attributes to stimulus efforts from the government to combat the effects of the downturn. Where the first three quarters of 2009 were down year-on-year against 2008, Q4 2009 was substantially stronger than Q4 2008 (138,955 vs 118,202).
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| TIV 2009 vs 2008 – by quarter (Illustration by MAA) |
Passenger vehicles (the ones we primarily review here in Autoworld) accounted for 91% of 2009’s TIV, 486,342 units registered, thereby maintaining the same TIV share from 2008 despite a decline of 11,117 units. Within the passenger vehicle category, passenger cars accounted for 83.7% of sales, followed by MPV (13.1%), SUV (2.2%), and window vans (1.0%).
Commercial vehicle registration went down by 93 units from 2008 to record a total of 50,563 for 2009. Within this category, pick-up trucks account for 61.7% of sales, followed by trucks (27.6%), panel vans (7.2%), buses (2.1%) and prime movers (1.4%). It should be noted that pick-ups here included the likes of the Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton, and Ford Ranger. Figures from MAA also listed a pick-up model from Proton, which sold a total of 287 units. Weird, since the Proton Arena is no longer for sale in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, new vehicle production for 2009 dropped 7.8% from 530,810 in 2008 to 489,269. According to MAA, the higher drop percentage in production volume compared to sales was due to manufacturers scaling back in order to avoid over-stocking in the early parts of the year.
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| Total production volume 2009 vs 2008 |
In view of the industry’s strong resurgence at the end of 2009, MAA is positively predicting a 2.4% growth in TIV, with 550,000 being the magic number that they’re aiming for. In fact, they are predicting an average growth of 3% for the industry from 2011 to 2014, with TIV expected to breach the 600,000 mark by 2013.
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Performance by Marques
No surprises, Perodua and Proton continue to hold the lion’s share of the market, the duo accounting for a combined 58.7% of TIV. Perodua continues to hold a slight edge with 31.1% (166,736 units) against Proton’s 27.6% (148,785).
Beneath the two national makes are the Japanese trinity of Toyota, Honda, and Nissan at 15.2% (81,785), 7.2% (38,783), and 5.9% (31,493) respectively. The fourth Japanese player, Mitsubishi, at 1.3% (6,981), finds itself sandwiched between local brands Naza (2.1% – 11,119) and Inokom (1.0% – 5,392).
With the D-Max pick-up as its only model, Isuzu did a good job to move 5,378 vehicles, and secure a 1.0% market share of TIV, just only eclipsing Suzuki’s 4,994 units (0.9% TIV).
Among the Germans, Mercedes-Benz lead the way with a total of 4,156 vehicles sold, though 179 of them are from its commercial vehicles division. Merc’s arch-rival, BMW, follow closely with 3,564 units, its entire volume dependent on passenger vehicles.
The Korean duo Kia and Hyundai are also making positive in-roads. Kia, in particular, registered an increase in sales from 2008 (2,824 to 3,164). Sister company, Hyundai, chalked 2,562 sales. It should be noted that certain models of these two brands are sold under Naza and Inokom nameplates, so their actual sales figures may be higher.
Follow the links below to read about the official responses from Perodua and Mercedes-Benz Malaysia on their 2009 performance, and how they look forward to 2010.
