PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian automotive industry recorded a rebound in total sales in 2018 following two years of consecutive contraction, with a 3.8% growth in total industry volume (TIV).

The higher vehicle sales was mainly attributed to the three-month tax holiday period last year, after the Pakatan Harapan government zerorised Goods and Services Tax between June to August 2018.

A total of 598,714 vehicles were sold last year, of which 514,675 were passenger vehicles and 65,512 were commercial vehicles.

Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) retained its first rank in terms of total vehicle sales, as the carmaker enlarged its market share from 35.5% in 2017 to 38% in 2017.

Honda ranked second with a market share of 17.1%. Toyota rose to the third position in 2018 (10.9%), beating Proton which slipped to the fourth rank (10.8%).

According to the Malaysian Automotive Association president Datuk Aishah Ahmad, vehicles sales in 2019 are expected to be flattish.

"We foresee 2019 will be another very challenging year. We forecast a TIV growth of 0.21% this year," she told reporters during a press briefing today.