Total vehicle sales fell for the third consecutive month in July, slipping 6% to 50,252 units from 53,483 units recorded in the same month last year, but jumped by 20% or 8,462 units compared with the previous month, said the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

It said yesterday that sales volume for the seven-month period declined to 347,455 units from 354,598 units over the same period last year.

Sales of passenger vehicles in July slipped to 44,835 units from 48,144 units in the same month last year, while sales of commercial vehicles were up marginally to 5,417 units from 5,339 units a year earlier.

The MAA said the supply situation had improved by 25% in July versus the previous month due to the festive season sales campaign and higher sales of Perodua's newly launched Myvi model.

Sales of passenger vehicles in July slipped to 44,835 units from 48,144 units in the same month last year.

Total vehicle production decreased to 53,453 units from 58,004 units registered in the same month last year.

Passenger vehicle production in July dropped to 49,270 units from 53,629 units for the same period of 2010 while commercial vehicle production decreased slightly to 4,183 units from 4,375 units.

The MAA expects sales for August to be better than July due to a rush for deliveries in conjunction with the Hari Raya season.