Data produced by Lightstone Auto has shown that new vehicle sales fell by 68% year-on-year (y-o-y) in May to 12 932, the Bureau for Economic Research reports.
Limited activity during Level 4 lockdown contributed to the continued sharp annual drop in sales. New passenger car sales declined by 65.4% y-o-y to 9 019 units while exports sales, at 10 819 units, were down by 64.1% y-o-y.
However, although markedly weaker compared to a year ago, domestic new vehicle sales in May showed a significant recovery compared to April 2020 (when only 574 units were sold).
Lockdown regulations then were also much stricter.
In similar vein, vehicle sales should improve further on a monthly basis in June as automotive sales and manufacturing are set to operate more normally under Level 3 lockdown restrictions.
But, given the pressure on consumer income and increased job shedding, it is not expected that vehicle sales will recover fully this year.
