According to registration data released by the Malaysian Automobile Association (MAA), in May this year, new car sales in Malaysia fell slightly by 3% year-on-year, from 70,254 units in the same period last year to 68,007 units.
Saga； Image source: Proton
Economic data shows that Malaysia’s economic growth slowed to 4.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, down from the revised 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This slowdown was mainly due to the slowdown in export growth and slightly weaker domestic consumption growth in Malaysia. Notably, Bank Malaysia has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.0% for two consecutive years.
Judging from the overall performance in the first five months of this year, Malaysia’sCar salesdecreased by 5% year-on-year to 316,737 units from a record 333,309 units in the same period last year; Sales of light passenger cars fell 3% y/y to 295,213 units, while commercial vehicle sales fell 23% y/y to 21,524 units.
In terms of power type, the first five months of this year were mainly due to ChinaElectric vehicleThe outstanding performance of manufacturer BYD and its Denza brand, as well as the market’s interest in Malaysian automaker Proton’s recently launched e. With strong demand for the MAS 7 model, Malaysia’s pure electric vehicle sales performed well, increasing by 59% year-on-year to 13,871 units; Among them, the combined sales of BYD and Denza brands reached 4,880 units, and the Proton e. The MAS 7 also contributed 3,400 units sold, while Tesla sold 1,810 units.
From the perspective of car companies, in the first five months of this year, Malaysia’s largest automaker Perodua’s sales in the country fell by 1.5% year-on-year to 143,860 units, slightly better than the overall performance of the country’s auto market; Proton’s global sales fell nearly 4% year-on-year to 60,187 units (including 1,327 exported vehicles), with the Saga model continuing to be Proton’s best-selling model with 26,511 units, the X50 compact SUV based on the Geely platform becoming Proton’s second best-selling model with 9,704 units sold, and the S70 sedan, also based on the Geely platform, becoming Proton’s third best-selling model with 7,944 units sold.
Notably, Proton has confirmed the start of production of the Saga model at the CKD plant in Egypt at the end of February this year, aiming to supply the North African market.
onlyyieldIn the first five months of this year, Malaysia’s total vehicle production fell by 12% year-on-year to 299,886 units.
Other than thatGasso Automotive Research InstituteAccording to data, in May this year, China exported a total of 14,549 passenger cars to Malaysia, including 2,378 pure electric vehicles. According to preliminary statistics from the Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute, in May this year, Geely Automobile won the championship in the list of “Top 5 Car Companies in China’s Passenger Car Exports to Malaysia”, with an export volume of 7,639 units; Chery Automobile won the runner-up, with exports reaching 4,163 units; BYD Automobile ranked third, with an export volume of 950 units; Jiangsu Yueda Kia ranked fourth, with an export volume of 480 vehicles; Tesla cars followed with exports of 313 units.
At the same time, according to preliminary statistics from the Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute, in the first five months of this year, Geely Automobile (28,099 units), Chery Automobile (15,183 units), BYD Automobile (6,793 units), Jiangsu Yueda Kia (4,200 units) and Tesla Motors (2,611 units) are still the “top five car companies in terms of China’s passenger car exports to Malaysia”.
