KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 18): Total industry volume (TIV) in the country was up 153% to 44,275 units in September this year compared with 17,500 units recorded in August.

In a statement on Monday, the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) said the sales rebound was mainly due to the full month of restored business operations nationwide following the relaxation of movement restrictions.

Notwithstanding that, the association noted that a shortage of computer chips had affected sales of certain makes, in addition to certain makes facing cancellation of orders due to low consumer sentiment.

Meanwhile, September's sales figure saw a fall of 23% to 44,275 units compared with 57,758 units sold in the same period last year.

For the cumulative nine months, 318,874 units were sold, down 25,145 units or 7.3% from the 344,019 units in the same period a year ago.

On the outlook for October, the MAA expects it will be better than September's level as business operations have been restored nationwide as well as with companies ramping up production and delivery of vehicles.

To recap, the MAA in July this year trimmed its 2021 TIV forecast to 500,000 units from 570,000 units earlier.