MAA president Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zain.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s total industry volume (TIV) could potentially reach up to 800,000 units this year, driven by promotion from both passengers and commercial vehicle segments, says the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
In July 2024, MAA announced its latest forecast for TIV figures for the entire year of 2024 to reach 765,000 units, comprising 696,150 passenger vehicles and 68,850 commercial vehicles.
MAA president Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zain stated that achieving the initial target should not be an issue, before adding that he did in fact anticipate a slightly higher figure.
As such, the estimated 800,000 figure would indicate a possible increase of 4.57% from the initial target.
“The initial forecast of 765,000 units was made around July, when we expected a dip in momentum.
“However, we did not fully account for back orders, especially for certain models, especially from national car manufacturers,” he said after a media launch of the Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS) 2024 here, yesterday.
When asked if MAA has decided with TIV expectations for 2025, he stated that this has yet to be discussed and the announcement may be made in January 2025.
On the other hand, when asked if there are any updates on the exemption of revised open market value (OMV) calculation for excise duty on completely knocked down (CKD) cars, Shamsor said discussions with the government are currently underway.
“However, we are still waiting for certain decisions to be made by the government. Definitely, there will be a big impact to the industry, especially to the future cost for automobiles.
“But we hope that we will be getting a favourable response from the government,” he said.
The OMV calculation method for CKD vehicles was initially introduced back in 2019, although in 2020, the government revised the methodology to not only encompass excise duty on manufacturing costs but also on additional non-manufacturing costs, such as marketing, sales, administrative expenses and others.
This revised method could potentially lead to an increase in CKD vehicle prices to go up by 8% to 20%.
Fast forward to 2022, it was announced that the automotive industry had received a two-year deferment of OMV excise duty regulations from the government – in which no major price increases due to duty reasons will occur until the end of 2024.
“As far as MAA members are concerned, they are planning for the worst-case scenario which will have a tremendous impact, especially to our planned production as well as stock planning for some CKD members.
“I am not able to comment on why it is taking so long, but basically, we hope to see a favourable response quickly, so that the industry or manufacturer will be able to respond and react wisely,” he added.
Additionally, Shamsor said KLIMS 2024 anticipates at least 250,000 visitors throughout the entire seven-day event.
With this year’s theme being “Beyond Mobility”, KLIMS is celebrating its 10th edition from Dec 5 to 11, 2024, at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre, bringing in about 70 exhibitors, nine new car launches and eight concept car displays.
Shamsor opined that KLIMS 2024 would serve as a crucial platform for the automotive industry to showcase its latest advancements, providing insight into transformative trends such as electric vehicles (EVs) and eco-friendly mobility solutions.
“With the Malaysian government’s ongoing commitment to sustainable and innovative mobility solutions, including incentives for EV adoption and policies supporting green technology, we see an exciting trajectory for our automotive sector.
“And we are thrilled to celebrate this 10th edition of KLIMS, which underscores Malaysia’s potential as a regional leader in the future of mobility,” he said.
