National carmaker PROTON registered a 13.6% growth rate in sales against the previous month with 12,522 units (domestic and export) sold in May this year. Sales for the first five months closed at 62,697 units cementing the company’s second position in the overall national automotive sales ranking sales table with a forecast market share of 19%.
The sales growth registered by PROTON in May is in line with the trend for Total industry volume (TIV) which is estimated to have grown by 20.7% to approximately 70,000 units in May. Cumulatively, the year-to-date (YTD) figure for TIV is estimated to be at 330,236 units, equivalent to 8.8% increase over 2023.
Highest shipment recorded in May on the back of improved market sentiment PROTON’s plans to expand and reestablish its brand in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, and Iraq this year have proven fruitful as its export sales came in at 509 units in May, the highest shipment recorded for 2024 thus far.
Since February this year, the best-selling export model is the Proton Saga, which again led the pack with 360 units exported in May. Most models also saw an uptick in May export sales, bringing the cumulative export sales to 1,344 units since January this year.
The company’s flagship SUV, the Proton X90, regained its position as the most popular D-segment SUV in Malaysia with 364 units sold. Meanwhile, sales of the Proton Saga increased 21.6% to 6,119 units in May leading to year-to-date sales of 29,397 units, an uptick of 8%, as it remains an attractive proposition to Malaysian car buyers.
Proton’s other market leader in May is its class-leading C-segment sedan, the Proton S70. Sales increased by 23% to 2,011 units from 1,635 units in April, and as a result, cumulative sales for the first five months of 2024 are now 9,474 units.
As for the other Proton models, sales for the Proton X70 came in at 523 units while its B-segment sedan sister, the Proton Persona of 1,645 units, bringing its YTD total to 8,444 units. Meanwhile the brand’s B-segment hatchback, the Proton Iriz, added 452 units to its May sales volume, making total sales to date 2,410 units.
Finally, Malaysia’s favourite award-winning B-segment SUV, the Proton X50, achieved sales of 1,407 units in May. Demand is expected to surge following the launch of the revamped 2024 Proton X50 model on 4 June which introduced a series of upgrades, promising an even more technologically advanced and refined driving experience.
“Following a quiet month in April where sales were affected by festive holidays, May has seen a return to positive growth as TIV has increased both year-on-year and month-on-month, reflecting the resilience of the local automotive industry. With the cumulative TIV until May already making up 44.6% of Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA)’s full year projection of 740,000 units, we believe there is still room for growth in the local automotive industry.
“Entering the second half of 2024, PROTON will be focusing on growing sales via updates to our existing models while also concurrently taking our first steps towards entering the EV market. By leveraging on the strength of our partner, Geely, it is not a question of if but when PROTON will be revealing our own electric vehicles so do pay close attention as there are many exciting announcements on the horizon,” said Roslan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.
