A total of 489,340 vehicles were registered in the first seven months of 2026, according to road transport department (JPJ) data, and that makes it the biggest January-to-July on record, edging past the 487,851 units of the previous best in 2024 and running well ahead of last year’s 472,492.
What makes it notable is that 2026 has done this despite headwinds, chief among them the expiry of the import duty exemption for fully-imported EVs at the end of 2025, which many expected would cool the market. Instead, registrations have climbed almost every month.
Through July, 2026 is running around 17,000 units ahead of 2025 at the same point, and 2025 went on to set the all-time annual record of 870,327 units.
The second half of the year is traditionally the stronger one, carrying year-end promotions and the December registration rush.
To match last year’s record, 2026 needs to register about 381,000 units in the final five months. The second half of 2025 delivered nearly 398,000. If 2026 simply repeats that, it would finish at roughly 887,000 units, a third consecutive record year. It would also comfortably exceed the MAA’s official forecast for 2026, which calls for a total industry volume of 790,000 units and implies a decline; on registration numbers, at least, the market is tracking well above that.
Of course, five months is a long time, and a soft final quarter could still change the picture. But on the evidence of the first seven, a third straight record is very much in play.
If you’re thinking of contributing to the TIV statistics this year, no better place to do it other than our ACE 2026 event which will happen during the weekend of October 31 to November 1 at Setia City Convention Centre!
