Demand for Japanese cars decline as govt makes EV shift

 Proton, Perodua continue to dominate domestic car market share at 61%, says the investment, trade and industry ministry.

EV incentives attracted several new carmakers such as BYD and Tesla, affecting the sales of Japanese brands that did not offer EVs, said the investment, trade and industry ministry. (Reuters pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Demand for Japanese car brands Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi has declined slightly in the past three years, says investment, trade and industry minister Johari Ghani.

Johari said this was potentially due to the government encouraging the purchase and use of electric vehicles (EVs) through various incentives since 2022.

He said these incentives attracted several new carmakers such as BYD and Tesla to enter the Malaysian market, directly affecting the sales of Japanese brands that did not offer EVs.

“Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi had a 26% market share in 2020. This rose to 30% in 2021 and 2022, before declining on average to 26.2% between 2023 and 2025.

“The total sales of all Japanese brands started declining in 2023. This is possibly influenced by the government’s policy to encourage EV use,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.

Johari said national carmakers Proton and Perodua have continued to dominate the domestic car market with a consistent market share of 61% from 2020 to 2025.

The minister pointed out that Chery saw a massive surge in sales in recent years, from selling 4,649 units in 2024 to 20,427 in 2024 and 33,136 last year.

This came after the Chinese carmaker commenced local assembly operations at Inokom factories, he added.

He was repling to Oscar Ling (PH-Sibu), who asked the minister to reveal the sales recorded by Proton and Perodua in comparison with Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Chery in the past six years. - FMT