PETALING JAYA: While Malaysia’s automotive total industry volume (TIV) remains resilient, analysts are seeing a mixed operating environment even as sales volumes strengthen.
TA Research said the stronger sales volume is partly offset by persistent margin pressure and intense competition across both the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicles (EV) segments.
The research house explained Malaysia’s automotive sector recorded a robust recovery in July 2026, driven by aggressive mid-year promotional campaigns, a full working month, and higher pick-up truck demand following the government’s Budi Diesel subsidy implementation.
Under the Budi Madani initiative which was rolled out nationwide on July 1, eligible private diesel vehicle owners in Malaysia can purchase subsidised diesel at RM2.10 per litre using their MyKad.
It said TIV expanded 8.4% month-on-month (m-o-m) and 2.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 73,615 units, while cumulative sales for the first seven months of 2026 (7M26) grew 2.7% y-o-y to 459,049 units, supported entirely by passenger vehicle demand.
“National marques continued to strengthen their market dominance.
“Combined sales for Perodua and Proton rose 13.7% m-o-m in July to 48,858 units, while Proton stood out as the key growth engine, posting a 38.7% y-o-y jump in cumulative 7M26 sales to 115,025 units.
“Market leader Perodua saw a minor 4.8% y-o-y decline to 190,137 units over the same period,” the research house said.
Conversely, non-national brands lost momentum, slipping 4.7% m-o-m in July.
Cumulative 7M26 sales for foreign marques declined 5% y-o-y to 125,374 units, dragged down by double-digit declines from major players such as Nissan, Volkswagen, Honda, and Toyota.
EV adoption accelerated sharply as registrations reached 6,900 units in July, which is a 148.5% y-o-y surge accounting for 8.7% of all vehicle registrations.
Cumulative 7M26 EV registrations jumped 94% y-o-y to 38,700 units.
Proton emerged as the market leader with a 42.2% EV share, propelled by its best-selling e.MAS 5 model (2,400 units registered in July), outstripping rivals BYD (17.7%) and Tesla (8.7%).
Despite the top-line numbers, TA Research maintained a ‘neutral’ stance on the overall sector. It expects full-year 2026 TIV to total 790,000 units, down 3.7% y-o-y.
“While recent TIV data remained resilient, we continue to see a mixed operating environment, with stronger sales volumes partly offset by persistent margin pressure and intense competition across ICE and EV segments,” TA Research noted.
