PETALING JAYA: Some 14.15 million vehicles on the nation’s registry are not on the roads – they could have broken down, been abandoned, kept as collector’s items or even scrapped without their registration being cancelled.
A former senior Road Transport Department (JPJ) officer said the vehicles, which form a third of the total registered vehicles, are classified as inactive but are not necessarily no longer in existence.
Some vehicles could be left parked at homes or in public areas after breaking down with owners being unable to afford the repairs, he said.
“Others may keep a vehicle maintained but do not use it on the roads, perhaps one that was inherited from family members and has sentimental or collector’s value.
“These could be classic cars that are no longer driven or are awaiting lengthy restoration. Owners might also choose not to renew their road tax due to the costs, especially if it is a luxury vehicle.
“In some cases, it may just be oversight and forgetting to renew their road tax since the vehicle is never driven.
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“Then, there are those with ownership transfer issues because the original owner has died and there are discrepancies in inheritance papers,” he added.
In some cases, the ex-officer said, old vehicles could have been disposed of at scrapyards but remain registered with JPJ.
“There are cases where a discarded vehicle is bought by scrapyards but the deregistration is not done,” he explained.
He said another category involves vehicles whose road tax have not been renewed but which are still on the roads.
“These cases are dangerous because the car may not be covered by insurance and poses a liability if it gets involved in an accident. Such vehicles could remain undetected for years unless they are stopped during roadblocks or enforcement operations and impounded.
“The inactive figure is a registration status. It does not tell us where the vehicle is or what condition it is in. It should not automatically be assumed that all are abandoned or no longer in use,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Transport Ministry said there are 40.77 million registered vehicles as at Sept 30 but only 26.6 million, or 65.3%, were active.
Of the active vehicles, almost 16 million were cars and 9.57 million motorcycles.
In 2024, the number of registered vehicles stood at 38.7 million with 1.62 million new vehicles registered last year, comprising about 847,000 cars and 703,000 motorcycles.
The ministry said some vehicles may already have been scrapped or disposed of but remain in the JPJ’s system as the registration was not formally revoked.
The Transport Ministry introduced the Motor Vehicle De- Registration System (e-Dereg) system over two years ago to facilitate cancelling the registration of vehicles that are permanently damaged or no longer economically viable to repair or use.
The system allows the deregistration process to be carried out online by owners before the vehicle is disposed of through an authorised automotive treatment facility registered with the Department of Environment.
In November last year, the Transport Ministry said only 1,355 vehicles had been voluntarily deregistered up until September 2025 through e-Dereg.
