Malaysia’s Automobile Production Results in 2023

Malaysia's automobile production in 2023 was the highest ever at 774,600 units, an increase of 10.5% from the previous year. The local automakers’ association, MAA, cited the sales tax exemption measure and improvements to the supply chain environment as reasons. Furthermore, in 2023, the number of automobiles sold increased due to stable prices and policy interest rates throughout the year, which encouraged purchasing appetite, resulting in a rise in the number of automobiles produced.Production of passenger vehicles increased by 11.7% from the previous year to 724,891 units, with only SUVs slightly below the previous year's results. Due to last-minute demand before the end of the sales tax exemption measure in March 2023, sales of passenger cars such as sedans and hatchbacks went up by 20.3% from January to March of the previous year to around 108,000 units. SUV sales increased by 36.0% to 59,000 units, and MPV sales surged by 2.1 times to 19,000 units.

Market leader Perodua’s production volume increased by 18.8% from the previous year to 343,400 units, the highest ever. The net increase of the Veloz, which went into production in July 2022, and sales expansion during the sales tax exemption period led to a rise in MPV production. Perodua’s most produced model in 2023 was the Bezza, with production increasing by 28.7% from the previous year to 89,695 units. Proton came in second in 2023 with 154,866 units, an increase of 7.4% from the previous year. Production of the automaker’s best-selling model, Saga, went up 35.8% to 70,128 units. Malaysia’s two national automakers were followed by Japanese brands: Toyota, Honda and Mazda.