Malaysia Motoring Scene 2012 - Glancing Back

So the Total Industry Volume (TIV) for 2012 settled at 627,753 units, some 4.6% increase over the 2011 TIV, despite the tightening loan regulation imposed by Bank Negara. Out of this volume, 88% is taken by the passenger vehicle. However, within the passenger vehicle segment, there is slight shift in the uptake of the MPV at the expense of the passenger car. The SUV and window van market see no grow at both stick to 3.4% and 1.1% respectively.

Moving away from the categorical statistic towards the brand positioning, Perodua has strengthened its position as the country number 1 with 189,137 units which is commanding 30.2% of the market share. Even compared to the already-excellent 2011 for Perodua, there is more than 9,000 increased of car sold. Despite the increased in TIV, and most car maker recorded an increase in overall sales, Proton magically managed to buck the trend by selling less vehicle, totalling just 141,121, a decrease of 17,536 unit compared to 2011. In fact, if one look into the top ten sales chart, every player including Perodua, Toyota, Nissan, Honda Volkswagen, Hyundai-Inokom, Isuzu and Suzuki) recorded an increase except for Proton and Mitsubishi (slotted in 8th between Hyundai and Isuzu). In December, Toyota came eerily close to overtake Proton in monthly sale, something unthinkable some years back. Toyota, the third place holder sold 105,151 units in 2012, 18,200 more than 2011. The detail sales volume for each manufacturer can be seen in the figure tabulated by Motortrader.

In 2012, there are many significant launch. For the Malaysian maker, there is Proton Preve, which was hyped as the "best ever" and "global car" by its maker. At that segment of market, another affordably-priced car that entered our market include Inokom Elantra and Mitsubishi Mirage.

How did Proton managed to more than 17,000 units? Did all those people go out and buy Toyota Vios instead, partly contributed to the growth of 18,200 units by Toyota? It's not impossible although Vios can be dubbed as a mundane car, it is a perfect car for those who appreciate cars only by its brand, potential resale value and reliability record. And Toyota is perfect at that. Furthermore, monthly payment is usually does not differ much from the big Proton as the interest rate for the foreign brand is generally lower. For those who knows nothing about car like the description above, there's also a feeling of "graduated", "migrated" and "upgraded" when shifting to the foreign brand, subsequently positioned themselves differently in the social rank.

Nowadays, there is not model statistic anymore although anyone knows that it is Myvi that tops the chart. The rest of the subsequent places surely are taken by the Viva, Saga, Vios and Alza. One can only speculate about Preve's placing, but surely it is not near the place Persona used to occupied sometimes back. While Perodua's placing is almost secured until 2015 (when the new liberalisation policy is said to come in place), what can DRB-HICOM do to combat the sliding Proton market share?

Looking ahead, Malaysian Automotive Association predicts and upward trend for 2013, with 640,000 units forecast. This is due to multiplier effect of ETP and the increase of GDP. As a consumer, there's also several interesting car coming down to our stream. The confirmed entrance is the new Honda CRV, Mazda6, localized Mazda CX-5, Proton Preve Hatchback P3-22A and Perodua Alza facelift. We are hoping to see the new Honda Accord too, as well as the Kia Forte K3.

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