How many recon, grey import cars sold in Malaysia? We compare MAA sales and JPJ registration data

Grey-imported or reconditioned cars, or “recons” to you and me, are big business in Malaysia, and while most car companies pretend that they don’t exist, they form a sizeable part of the local automotive industry. But just how big a pie are these importers and resellers taking in terms of sales?

To find out, we’re comparing 2024 sales data car companies submit to the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) with actual registration data from the Road Transport Department (JPJ). The latter would generally be the higher figure, since it includes all registrations, including recons. As such, we’ll be able to see just how many cars get registered outside the official dealer networks.

No surprises for guessing which brand has the most grey imports. Toyota cars make up over half of the recons with 26,501 vehicles sold, mostly consisting of Alphards, Vellfires and Harriers as well as a handful of Noahs, Voxys and GR models. Official distributor UMW Toyota Motor sold 100,701 vehicles, meaning that nearly 21% of the 127,202 Toyotas registered came from outside the official network.

Rather more shockingly, almost 75% of the 6,431 Lexus vehicles registered last year were recon cars, likely the popular NX and RX. The fact that the brand commands the second-highest number of grey market sales (4,815 units) from such a low overall volume is downright insane and means that only one out of four Lexus cars that reached customers’ hands in 2024 actually came out of a Lexus Malaysia showroom.

Mind you, Mercedes-Benz wasn’t too far behind with 4,773 recon vehicles sold last year, out of 11,887 total registrations. Over 40% of Three-pointed Star buyers purchased their (undoubtedly expensive) cars without an official warranty, which is very brave.

Stuttgart’s arch rival BMW, however, is nowhere to be found. In fact, BMW Group Malaysia actually submitted a higher number of sales to MAA than JPJ registrations, which is practically impossible unless the company managed to sell cars without registering them. It also seems unlikely that there were no recon BMW sales compared to almost 5,000 recon Merc sales – not least because a cursory browse through the classifieds revealed several grey-market BMWs on sale right now.

Nissan was another brand reporting higher numbers to MAA compared to JPJ sales, and given the number of grey-market GT-Rs on the road, those figures surely can’t be correct. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) has accused other brands of not reporting accurate numbers to MAA before.

Behind Mercedes was Honda, with 3,574 grey units sold last year, just 4.2% of the 85,273 total cars registered. These will have included the popular Civic Type R but also a growing number of StepWGNs, reflected in the amount we see on the road these days. Perhaps Honda Malaysia should consider officially importing the midsize MPV – the car was already previewed in Indonesia last year.

Unsurprisingly, more than half of the 2,704 Porsches sold last year were recon units, earning it fifth place in the standings with 1,401 units. A vast majority of them will be Macans, but there will also be a few Taycans imported from Japan, taking advantage of the ongoing tax breaks for CBU fully-imported electric vehicles.

These will be cheaper than the official units but are disadvantaged in that they use Type 1 AC and CHAdeMO DC charging ports, which require adapters to plug in Type 2 AC and CCS2 DC chargers commonly found in Malaysia. They also don’t come with Sime Darby Auto Performance’s (SDAP) eight-year battery warranty, meaning that buyers requiring a battery replacement down the line will be facing a seriously hefty bill.

Next on the list is Land Rover, of which a staggering 93% of the 1,024 total registrations were from the grey market. That’s not surprising given how much officially-imported full-fat Range Rovers and Range Rover Sports cost nowadays, all retailing well north of RM1.5 million. Still, these cars do not come with an official warranty which, given the brand’s reputation for (un)reliability, makes their owners even braver than those who bought recon Mercs.

The last company with more recon registrations than official sales is Suzuki. Out of a total of 1,504 units registered, 824 came from the grey market, including the latest Swift Sport and Jimny – all of which are far cheaper than the stratospherically-priced new models coming from Naza Eastern Motors (NEM). Over to you – are you surprised by these numbers? Sound off in the comments after the jump.

The post How many recon, grey import cars sold in Malaysia? We compare MAA sales and JPJ registration data appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.