The Honda HR-V, Chery Omoda 5, and Haval H6 are the biggest winners of November 2024’s sales tally for SUVs.

Honda HR-V sales grew 19.4% last month, reaching 1,923 units, making it Malaysia’s No.1 selling non-national SUV. This is despite Honda Malaysia not having any e:HEV RS hybrid to sell until January 2025.

In terms of cumulative numbers (January to November 2024), the Honda HR-V remains the most popular non-national SUV in Malaysia, with 18,587 units sold.

The HR-V’s closest rival Toyota Corolla Cross saw sales ease by 62.9%, dropping to 700 units in November. This was due to the transition to a 2025 facelift model, which was launched last week with a RM 2,200 lower starting price for the hybrid variant (now priced from RM 140,800).

While the Toyota Corolla Cross takes a pause to introduce a new model, Chery’s Jaecoo J7 is closing in on the Honda HR-V, with 1,456 units registered last month.

Although Jaecoo’s November sales dropped 8.4%, it is still a formidable rival to the Honda HR-V. The C-segment Jaecoo J7 sits one segment higher than the HR-V but is priced like the B-segment HR-V, starting from RM 138,800.

Chery dealers in Malaysia can now take a breather as sales of the Omoda 5 grew 33.7% month-on-month to reach 445 units. After languishing below the 300 units per month mark for four consecutive months, the Omoda 5 can now see some signs of growth.

The Omoda 5 would need to continue to show growth another 3 months before it can be concluded that Chery can finally put the fiasco in May to rest.

The Haval H6, only in its second month of sales, more than doubled its sales to 356 units. It still has quite a big gap to close before it can be a genuine contender in this segment, but we understand from dealers that the waiting list is growing, and there is a shortage of inventory.

As for Proton, the new and improved Proton X70 facelift recovered from last month's lull, growing 5.4% to reach 1,045 units. However, sales of the Proton X50 eased 8.6% to 1,873 units.

The surprise of the year is the Honda CR-V. Despite having a much higher starting price, the CR-V is holding such a big lead (cumulative sales) over the Proton X70, and is only 2,308 units behind the RM 30,000 cheaper Toyota Corolla Cross.

The latest generation CR-V is such an all-rounder that it is the most satisfying SUV we’ve reviewed this year, especially the e:HEV RS variant.

The all-new CR-V combines the sharp handling of the Mazda CX-5, including the perfectly centred steering and pedals, with the comfort of the Toyota Corolla Cross, while building on the previous generation CR-V’s unmatched practicality and spacious interior.

The overall leader in the SUV category remains the Perodua Ativa, which recorded 2,478 units, although its sales slid 19.4% compared to the previous month.

Sales of non-luxury, 5-seater SUVs in Malaysia, Jan - Nov 2024

Source: JPJ.

Note: Toyota Harrier and Suzuki Jimny are excluded, JPJ's data don't separate new car registrations from grey imports.