KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Vehicle sales in Malaysia increased to 73,222 units in March this year compared to 64,938 units during the same month last year, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said.

In a statement today, it said the year-to-date sales volume for March 2022 was 12.8 per cent higher at 159,752 units compared to 148,155 units during the corresponding period in 2021.

"Sales of passenger vehicles improved to 65,902 units in March 2022 versus 58,498 units in March 2021, and sales of commercial vehicles rose to 7,3201 units in the month under review from 6,440 units previously.

"Total Industry Volume (TIV) for March 2022 was 62.5 per cent higher than February 2022 (45,051 units) due to an aggressive push for higher sales by companies having their financial year ending on March 31, 2022 and a longer working month,” MAA said.

In terms of total production, the association said 59,908 vehicles were produced in March 2022 compared to 62,221 units in the same month last year.

It said the production of passenger vehicles eased to 55,137 units in March 2022 versus 58,102 units in the same month last year, while production of commercial vehicles rose to 4,771 units from 4,119 units previously.

On the outlook for April 2022, MAA expects the sales volume to be lower than in March due to chip shortages and components, coupled with shipments delay that may affect some companies.

"Much of the sales were fulfilled by companies having their financial year ending March 31, 2022,” it added. — Bernama