PROTON Sales Result Is At 8-Year High

Over the past 10 months, PROTON recorded cumulative sales of 115,366 vehicles, giving the national car maker its best sales result since 2014. With this figure, at an 8-year high, PROTON enters the final quarter of 2022 on a positive note as it expects to fare well in the remaining months.

In comparison, this sales result over the 10-month period of 2022 (export sales included) is higher than the 114,708 vehicles it sold over the 12 months of 2021, though the preceding year was slightly disruptive for businesses to say the least.

In October 2021, PROTON sold 13,013 vehicles (domestic + export) and ended the month in 2nd place in the market. The company estimates its market share at 21.1% with year-to-date (YTD) market share shrinking slightly to 19.9%. The overall Total Industry Volume (TIV) for October is estimated to have exceeded 60,000 units for a 3rd consecutive month as the Malaysian automotive market remains on target to break the record for total sales.

Aside from its local market success, PROTON’s export division had also been busy. In October, it exported another 416 units, bringing its total export volume to 4,741 vehicles, its best since 2013. Similar to its domestic sales, the Saga is also the company’s bestseller with 2,106 cars exported thus far, followed by the Proton X70 (1,608 units).

“The growth in PROTON’s export division in 2022 is in line with our intention to penetrate more overseas markets. While Malaysia will be the company’s main market for some time to come, export sales has more untapped growth potential that fits in with our long-term growth targets to be a major regional automotive brand,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, PROTON.

The X70 is part of PROTON’s family of SUVs that are dominating the local market since its first introduction in December 2018. So far in 2022, PROTON has sold 15,536 units of the X70, with 1,391 units delivered in October. The more compact Proton X50 however, is the dominant model with 33,193 units sold in the first 10 months (3,602 were sold in October). Cumulatively, its SUVs have contributed 48,729 units to its overall sales thus far.

“PROTON’s fourth consecutive year of volume growth coincides with the brand’s entry into the SUV market with the Proton X70. It’s an achievement the company is proud of and despite the launch of newer rivals, it remains a class leader and was even named Best Large SUV at the 2022 Carsifu Editors’ Choice Awards. Therefore, to celebrate its upcoming fourth birthday, we are offering customers gifts comprising accessories worth RM1,499, interest rates as low as 2.52% and many other surprises from our dealerships if they purchase a Proton X70 in November,” said Roslan Abdullah.

The best-selling Proton model however, is still the Saga. This model’s year-to-date sales hit 45,965 units, as the company sold 5,262 Sagas in October. This is a 42% increase over the previous year and shows that the updated model, launched in May, is even more popular with customers than its predecessor.

Meanwhile, the Persona and Iriz make up most the balance (1,697 units of Persona delivered in October; 661 for Iriz). The Persona has surpassed slightly its total volume in 2021 by 0.4% while the Iriz is close to doing the same. Further, the Exora remains leader in the C-segment MPV with 400 units delivered (YTD volume is 3,508 units).