Malaysia auto sales plunge 4.8 percent
Malaysia's vehicle sales continued to sink in February, falling 4.8 percent as the downturn saw finance institutions adopt tough loan approval standards, an industry group said Friday.
The Malaysian Automotive Association said that continued "low consumer confidence" amid the global economic crisis and "stringent evaluation on applications for hire purchase loans" were hurting sales.
Auto sales in Southeast Asia's biggest passenger car market contracted 4.8 percent year-on-year in February to 36,675 from 38,527.
Sales volume in February was 1,126 units or 3.0 percent lower than the previous month, it said. Vehicle sales plunged 17.5 percent year-on-year in January as consumer confidence nosedived.
But the association said sales in March would pick up due to "slightly improved consumer confidence" and a "longer working month."
The association in January predicted that Malaysia's vehicle sales would fall 12.4 percent in 2009 due to a slowing economy and poor consumer sentiment amid the global economic slump.
The industry group forecast sales at 480,000 units for 2009, down from 548,115 last year.
Malaysia recently said that its economy could contract by 1.0 percent in 2009 despite a massive 16.2 billion dollar stimulus package, dumping its earlier target of 3.5 percent growth.
http://news.my.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=2879063
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