Malaysia has 40.77 million registered vehicles, 65.3 pct active

As of September 30, Malaysia counted 40.77 million registered vehicles, with 26.6 million, or 65.3 percent, active, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook. In 2025, 1.62 million new vehicles joined the fleet, including around 847,000 cars and 703,000 motorcycles. Among the active vehicles, approximately 16 million were cars, and 9.57 million were motorcycles.

The surge in private vehicles has led to traffic congestion, longer commute times, heightened accident risks, and a negative impact on productivity and public health. Continued reliance on private vehicles also means higher travel costs, increased air pollution, and greater strain on road infrastructure. To tackle these issues, the ministry is pursuing an integrated strategy, focusing on three key areas.

These include enhancing public transport and connectivity, implementing targeted traffic management with infrastructure and technology support, and boosting rail freight. Notable projects include the LRT3, which commenced operations on June 29, and the Mutiara LRT Line in Penang, set to start functioning in December 2031. In Johor, the extension of Express Trains to Sentral (ETS) services began on December 12, 2025, while the Rail Transit System (RTS) Link between Bukit Chagar and Woodlands North is slated to launch operations in the first quarter of 2027.

The government's Road to Rail agenda in the 13th Malaysia Plan aims to raise the share of freight movement by rail from 6 percent in 2025 to 13 percent by 2030.