Malaysian auto sales fall in August on higher fuel price: industry

Agence France-Presse - 9/22/2008 8:49 AM GMT

Malaysia's vehicle sales dipped by 12.5 percent in August from the previous month due to the impact of higher fuel costs, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said Monday.

The industry body said total vehicle sales for the month was 47,227 units, 6,757 units lower than in July and 1.0 percent lower than the 47,585 units sold in the same period last year.

It cited "higher interest rates and the tightening of hire-purchase loans" as other reasons for the slowdown in sales.

For the eight months to August, vehicle sales for both the passenger and commercial vehicles sectors was 21 percent higher than the same period in 2007 at 379,184 units.

The MAA said sales for September 2008 are forecast to be even lower than August from the impact of a shorter working month due to the Eid al-Fitr festive holidays.

It also factored in the increase in hire-purchase interest rates, stringent approvals for loans and a fall in consumer spending due to high oil prices for the predicted reduction in sales.

The association had said that vehicle sales are expected to dip 16.5 percent in the second half of the year due to higher fuel costs and rising inflation, with the bulk of the drop coming from a 28 percent reduction in the volume of commercial vehicles sold.

But the auto sector is expected to achieve its growth target of 4.7 percent to 510,000 units for the year despite the bleak second half outlook, the MAA said.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced a deeply unpopular 41 percent fuel price hike in June, which saw inflation surge to a 26-year high of 8.5 percent in July, driven by the escalating cost of fuel and electricity.

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