KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): The enforcement of the second movement control order (MCO 2.0) impacted traffic volume of showrooms, resulting in Malaysia's vehicle sales falling 24% to 32,829 units in January, from 42,942 a year ago.

On a month-to-month basis, the January sales were down 51% compared with 68,836 units in December 2020, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said in a statement.

January’s sales were the lowest since May 2020 at the peak of the first MCO, when just 23,309 vehicles were sold in the country.

The MAA explained that most customer orders had been brought forward in December, resulting in lower stocks in January 2021 for some companies.

Sales were also impacted by the shutdown of some parts suppliers due to Covid-19, resulting in short supply of components and parts for some companies, MAA added.

From a production perspective, production volume fell 13% to 39,666 units in January versus 45,416 a year ago.

Looking ahead, MAA said the sales volume in February is expected to be lower than January due to the shorter working month.