KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s motor vehicle sales for March 2022 rose 12.75% to 73,222 units, from 64,938 units in March 2021, according to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

       MAA, in its monthly update, said of the total, passenger vehicles (PV) accounted for 65,902 units while commercial vehicles (CV) comprised 7,320 units.

       In the first three months of 2022, sales volume was higher by 7.8% at 159,752 units compared with 148,155 units in the same period last year.

       MAA said total industry volume (TIV) for March 2022 was 62.5% higher than February 2022, which was at 45,051 units.

       It said this was mainly due to an aggressive push for higher sales by companies having their financial year ending on March 31, 2022 and also a longer working month.

       In terms of total production, 59,908 vehicles were produced in March 2022 compared with 62,221 units a year ago.

       On the outlook, MAA said sales in April 2022 are expected to be lower than in March 2022.

       It said this was due to a shortage of chips and components and also shipments delay may affect some companies.

       In addition, MAA said much of the sales were fulfilled by companies having their financial year ending on March 31.