Malaysia's two biggest carmakers, Proton and Perodua, jointly grew their sales in July, but motor vehicle sales overall in the country fell by 5.09 percent to 43,922 vehicles.

Data released by an industry group yesterday said combined sales for the two national car makers rose by 8.25 percent to 30,272 vehicles in July.

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) gave no reason for the strong performance but Proton launched the two-door Satria Neo saloon (right) recently.

The statement did not provide a detailed breakdown of sales for the two companies.
For the passenger car segment, both national brands posted a 13.8 percent year-on-year increase in sales to 28,335 vehicles.

Foreign-brand car sales fell by 25.5 percent in July to 13,650 units from 18,315 units a year earlier.

Aggressive promotions

Total sales for the seven months to July for national car makers dropped 1.2 percent to 188,852 vehicles from a year earlier, MAA said.

Foreign-brand sales during the same period also dropped to 103,478 units, compared with 116,218 units a year earlier.

The industry body said cumulative vehicle sales for both foreign and national vehicles in the seven-month period fell 4.9 percent to 292,330 units, from 307,390 a year earlier.

MAA said sales volumes may improve going forward as a result of aggressive promotions by car companies.