Malaysia CV market continues to grow in Q1/2023
By Will Pulson - 2nd July 2023
Malaysia - The Malaysian commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw continued to expand in the first quarter of 2023, by almost 13% to 20,484 after growing by over 20% to 18,286 units a year earlier, based on registration data compiled by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
First-quarter GDP growth came in at a better-than-expected 5.6% year-on-year, albeit down from 7.1% in the fourth of last year, driven mainly by buoyant domestic consumption while exports shrank. Consumer spending growth slowed to 5.9% from 7.4%, while government spending declined by 2.2% after 3% growth previously and fixed investment growth slowed to 4.9% from 8.8%. The central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate by a further 25 basis points to 3% in May, up from a low of 1.75% a year earlier, to offset the risk of rising inflation.
