Market growth in Malaysia continues modestly in 2023 after rebounding 43% in 2022
By Will Pulson - 11th April 2024
Malaysia - The Malaysian commercial vehicle market over 2 tons gvw expanded by more than 5% to 22,217 units in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 21,050 in the same period of the previous year, based on data compiled by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
Malaysian GDP expanded by 3.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, after growing by 7.0% in the same period a year earlier and down from 3.3% growth in the third quarter, reflecting falling weaker exports. Private consumption growth also slowed to 4.2% year-on-year from 4.6% in the third quarter, but this was partly offset by a 7.3% increase in government spending – up from 5.8% previously, while fixed investment growth also accelerated to 6.4% compared with 5.1%. The central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.0% for almost a year, after hiking mostly in 2022 from a 2021 low of 1.75%.
