{"id":3192,"date":"2026-01-20T17:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T17:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/wptest\/2026\/01\/20\/over-90-of-malaysians-concerned-about-taking-public-transportation-amidst-covid-19\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:44:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T17:44:39","slug":"over-90-of-malaysians-concerned-about-taking-public-transportation-amidst-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/2026\/01\/20\/over-90-of-malaysians-concerned-about-taking-public-transportation-amidst-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 90% of Malaysians Concerned About Taking Public Transportation Amidst Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kuala Lumpur, 10 August 2020 <\/b>\u2013 Malaysians are concerned about taking public\u00a0<\/span>transportation in the face of the COVID-19 situation, preferring to self-drive as a safety\u00a0<\/span>measure. The results of a recent survey by a tech-driven automotive content hub, WapCar\u00a0<\/span>also found that respondents are prudently opting to reduce spending and lower their budget\u00a0<\/span>for a car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The findings reflect the car sales trend as well as the spike in demand for used cars in\u00a0<\/span>Malaysia in June. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) recently reported June\u00a0<\/span>2020\u2019s sales volume was 5% higher than June 2019\u2019s. At the same time, the Federation of\u00a0<\/span>Motor and Credit Companies Association of Malaysia (FMCCAM) noted a 100% year-on-\u00a0<\/span>year growth in June\u2019s used car sales. MAA expects the sales volume in July 2020 to be\u00a0<\/span>better, trending towards cheaper and fuel efficient cars. The government\u2019s exemption on\u00a0<\/span>sales tax until the end of the year will also help to spur demand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Public in catch-22 situation\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The findings showed 57.9% of respondents will not take public transportation while 32.7%\u00a0<\/span>will, even though they are concerned about health safety in light of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span>Of the 318 respondents surveyed, many (55.4%) say they are reconsidering their plans to\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

buy a car in the next 6 months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It appears that while Malaysians are concerned about their safety, they will continue to take\u00a0<\/span>public transportation out of prudence or because they have no other alternative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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OVER 90% OF MALAYSIANS CONCERNED ABOUT TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AMIDST COVID-19\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

2. More bang, less buck – affordable car models appear to be the winners\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The survey supported MAA\u2019s announcement that car sales will trend towards cheaper and\u00a0<\/span>fuel efficient vehicles. Almost 47% of the respondents are only willing to spend less than\u00a0<\/span>RM100,000 for their next car purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Price and discounts will influence the current car purchase decision with 83% of respondents\u00a0<\/span>noting these as the most important factors during the pandemic. The government\u2019s sales-tax\u00a0<\/span>exemption measure to boost the automotive industry appears to be a step in the right\u00a0<\/span>direction, aligned with the needs of the people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifications and performance (74%) are also critical as with durability and fuel economy\u00a0<\/span>(63%). WapCar\u2019s data from 9 March to 30 June 2020 which showed an increase in search\u00a0<\/span>for car models that are practical and well-priced is evidence that people are looking for more\u00a0<\/span>bang, less buck in their next car. Among the top 10 most searched cars, nine have starting\u00a0<\/span>prices below RM100,000. These include models such as Honda City, Nissan Almera,\u00a0<\/span>Perodua Bezza, Perodua Axia, Perodua Aruz, Proton X50, Proton X70, Proton Saga, and\u00a0<\/span>Toyota Vios.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Car brands need to up their customer service game\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The survey showed 70% of the respondents are concerned about the economic situation\u00a0<\/span>and this affected their decision in buying new cars. Moreover, almost 50% of them are extra\u00a0<\/span>cautious on their spending and prefer to save for emergencies instead of purchasing big\u00a0<\/span>ticket items such as cars in the next six months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the face of stiff competition from cheap used cars, car brands have to up their customer\u00a0<\/span>service game in order to entice people to purchase new cars.\u00a0<\/span>The majority of respondents like the idea of convenience and not being required to be\u00a0<\/span>physically present in a car showroom. In addition to online showroom (42.1%) and\u00a0<\/span>convenient online financial solution (55%), more than 59% of the respondents cited door-to-\u00a0<\/span>door test drive and delivery as a service that they are expecting from car brands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The advancement of technology and the current situation of physical distancing are driving\u00a0<\/span>interest in online shopping for cars, aided by Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR)\u00a0<\/span>for virtual test drive and livestreaming. The result is timely for WapCar as the hub recently\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

OVER 90% OF MALAYSIANS CONCERNED ABOUT TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AMIDST COVID-19\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Introduced VR Showroom, an interactive and tech-driven feature that allows 360-degree\u00a0<\/span>exterior and interior viewing from anywhere, at any time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The survey was conducted for over a week in July by WapCar to understand the concerns of\u00a0<\/span>car buyers and how the automotive industry can meet these requirements. As a tech-driven\u00a0<\/span>automotive content hub, WapCar also provides an open platform for Malaysians to share\u00a0<\/span>their own experience and insights as car owners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For information and reference on the latest developments in the automotive industry and\u00a0<\/span>vehicle models available in Malaysia, please visit WapCar\u2019s official website\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.wapcar.my\/ or Facebook https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/wapcar.my\/.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Kuala Lumpur, 10 August 2020 \u2013 Malaysians are concerned about taking public\u00a0transportation in the face of the COVID-19 situation, preferring to self-drive as a safety\u00a0measure. The results of a recent survey by a tech-driven automotive content hub, WapCar\u00a0also found that respondents are prudently opting to reduce spending and lower their budget\u00a0for a car.\u00a0 The findings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3489,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3192\/revisions\/3489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malaysian-business.com\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}