KUALA LUMPUR: National automotive players expanded their share of new vehicles sales to 64 per cent in the first eight months of 2024 (8M24).
This was 2.55 percentage points (ppts) better than the same period in 2023, largely driven by strong growth of Perodua, according to Affin Hwang Capital.
Perodua's total sales improved across all segments with the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment growing 23.8 per cent year-on-year (yoy), passenger cars (PC) up 17.7 per cent yoy and sports utility vehicles (SUV) grew 2.8 per cent yoy.
Proton's 8M24 total sales volume was flattish at 102,200 units despite the positive sales momentum in the PC segment of 78,300 units (up 17.6 per cent yoy).
This was largely offset by a 33.8 per cent yoy drop in 8M24 sales volume in the SUV and MPV segments of 24,000 units in total.
The non-national auto players' market share fell to 36.5 per cent (down 2.5ppts yoy) due to weaker sales growth vis-à-vis the national auto players.
Affin Hwang said overall, the 8M24 total industry volume (TIV) of 533,300 units improved by 6.1 per cent yoy.
This was on the back of strong demand for national brands, particularly in the PC segment and launches of new models and brands onto the market.
Nevertheless, August TIV was marginally weaker at 71,200 units (-1.6 per cent yoy, -0.9 per cent month-on-month) with weaker sales across all top auto brands, only partially mitigated by Perodua's improved volume.
Mazda and Nissan registered their lowest monthly sales volumes in 2024, at 1,050 units and 514 units respectively.
These declines are likely attributed to stronger demand for their competitor, Chery, as its monthly sales volume saw significant growth with 1,800 units sold (up more than 100 per cent yoy, 69.9 per cent mom).
Notable model launches during the month were the Proton X70, Mercedes lineups (AMG A45S, EQS450 EV), EEV lineups (Lotus Emeya EV, Xpeng G6 EV, McLaren Artura Spider PHEV) and Volkswagen Golf GTI edition.
Affin Hwang maintained its neutral rating on the sector with an unchanged TIV forecast of 760,000 this year, which is below the Malaysian Automotive Association's forecast of 765,000 units (-4.3 per cent yoy).
The firm favours MBM Resources Bhd ('Buy', target price: RM6.42) as its earnings are more resilient than those of its peers, benefiting from its associate, Perodua, as the market leader.
Affin Hwang expects strong demand for national brands on strong backlog orders and potential downtrading towards more affordable vehicles given the RON95 subsidy rationalisation's sizeable impact on consumers' monthly budgets in the long term.