2102 is set to be a very positive year for the Malaysian automotive industry. This is as projected by international market research firm Frost & Sullivan who reported that the TIV (Total Industry Volume) for Malaysia this year to reach 612,000 units.
This constitutes a 1.2% growth from last year where despite the shaky economy around the world and shortage of supply due to the Tsunami disaster in Japan saw an estimated of 605,000 units in 2011.
The increase for 2012 is also somewhat ambitious considering that many brands are limiting their new models and loans approval issues and according to Kavan Mukhtyar, the Partner and Head of Automotive & Transportation Practice, the TIV would largely come from the C and D Segments which are the mid-sized sedans and premium and large sedan vehicles respectively. As expected, hybrid vehicles will also continue to grow quite rapidly, especially with the tax exemption provided by the government. The company predicted that hybrid vehicles will increase by 60.9% in 2012 while the B-Segment, which are the small and compact cars will increase by 23%.
Meanwhile, with more stringent loans and credit controls which will affect entry-level vehicles, the A and B segment cars would not be selling as well as others with the latter projected to grow to 2.2% and the former will surely reduce. MPV’s will also see a drop in demand with 2012 expecting to roll out 83,100 units at 10.1%.