The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) is maintaining its earlier forecast of 615,000 sales volume this year, despite Bank Negara Malaysia's move to tighten the conditions for lending.

Its President Datuk Aishah Ahmad said it was too early to revise the forecast, taking into consideration the required time for car dealers to adapt to the new rules.

She also said that following the ruling, some local banks were found to have "tightened the rules a little too much" and Bank Negara could have talked to these banks.

"I think Bank Negara had met up with the banks and told them to be less stringent. Maybe, when the central bank requested them to look at (borrowers') net income, they had become more stringent (than what was required).

"But I think now it has eased a bit and that is helping the industry players," she told reporters after MAA's annual general meeting here, today.

However, she said, the first quarter performance is expected to be flat or slightly lower with car dealers just beginning to adapt to the new lending rules.

Sales volume for March is expected to improve and cover the lower sales recorded in January and February, with the market adjusting to the stricter requirements in the higher purchase loan application process. -- Bernama