KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has forecast a 2 per cent increase in car production for 2018.
“Car production could be 2 per cent or higher in 2018,” its president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said at a press conference, after its annual general meeting here today.
Aishah said there was a pull back in car production in 2017, as car manufacturers had maintained excess stock in 2016.
Last year, car production declined about 8 per cent to 499,639 units from 545,253 units in 2016.
As for car sales, MAA has maintained its forecast for total car sales at about 2.3 per cent growth at 590,000 units for 2018.
Based on January and February 2018 car sales, MAA is expecting to see better sales volume in March.
Aishah explained March was a longer working month and that it was the month where companies having their financial year ending on March 31, 2018 rushed deliveries.
MAA saw total vehicle sales declining 10.92 per cent to 38,416 in February 2018, versus 43,127 in February 2017.
Aishah attributed the decline in car sales to the shorter working month due to the Chinese New Year festive holiday
