We love our vehicles all proper. Malaysians bought 385,353 automobiles within the first half of 2026, which is up 3% in comparison with the 373,636 models recorded in the identical interval final yr, in line with the Malaysian Automotive Affiliation (MAA).
With 49% of MAA’s authentic 2026 complete trade quantity (TIV) forecast of 790,000 models already achieved, and with yet one more (historically stronger) half of the yr to go, the auto distributor’s membership has revised upwards its projected TIV forecast to 800,000 models. By the way in which, TIV hit a file 820,752 models final yr, topping the earlier excessive of 816,747 from 2024, so there’s development.
Which segments gained, and what went down? Should you answered EVs, spot on. Gross sales of electrical automobiles rose by a whopping 106% year-on-year in 1H 2026, from 12,733 to 26,192 models. Gross sales of hybrid automobiles rose too, however at a much less spectacular charge of 43% (17,840 to 25,590 models). Ought to this development proceed, 2026 would be the first yr that can see EVs outsell hybrids in Malaysia.
Nevertheless, even with this huge development, the EV share of the general TIV is simply 6.8%, which could shock some given how a lot hype the battery-powered vehicles get (which is simply regular, as many new launches are EVs). Embody hybrids and gross sales of electrified automobiles grew by 69% y-o-y, from 1H 2025’s 30,573 to 51,782 models. That’s 13.4% of TIV.
MAA doesn’t share numbers by model, but when we have a look at Proton’s figures, it’s clear that EV market chief eMas 5 contributed a giant chunk – within the first half of 2026, they bought 10,665 models of the reasonably priced EV. The bigger eMas 7, in second place, discovered 2,865 houses in 1H 2026. Word that MAA’s figures don’t embody Tesla registrations, as that firm isn’t a member of the affiliation.
MAA identified that the SUV sub-category grew by 19% within the first half, and this isn’t one thing shocking. Again within the day, SUVs have been off-roaders and area of interest automobiles nevertheless it’s now the default bodystyle for household vehicles above RM100k. Within the high 20 fashions of 1H 2026 (JPJ information), there are seven SUVs – Proton X50, Perodua Traz, Perodua Ativa, Honda HR-V, Toyota Corolla Cross, Chery Tiggo (complete vary) and Proton eMas 7 PHEV. Eight when you rely the Perodua Aruz, which we take into account an SUV-styled MPV.
Then again, gross sales of pick-up vehicles noticed a decline of 19%. That is after all as a result of excessive diesel costs previous to the new Budi Diesel subsidy programme, which noticed it go in step with the Budi95 petrol subsidy scheme final month. Excessive pump costs scared off non-commercial customers, or the ‘life-style’ truck consumers. There are a few outliers, however pick-ups are largely diesel-powered.
Lastly – and maybe most importantly for the Malaysian auto trade – nationwide makes carved out a 67% share of the auto gross sales pie, leaving simply 33% for everybody else. It’s a four-point leap for Proton-Perodua in comparison with 1H 2025, when the national-non ratio was 63:37.
It was so, so completely different a decade in the past. We’ve dived deep into this nationwide vs non-national development earlier than, monitoring the ups and downs of Perodua/Proton and Toyota/Honda through the years. Extra not too long ago, Chinese language manufacturers have created enormous waves in our market. Click on on the hyperlinks to learn extra when you’re into stats and traits.
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