PROTON continued its positive growth trajectory to start the year by reporting 13,602 sales (domestic and export) in February. By doing so, total sales for the first two months grew to 26,484 units, an increase of 3% over the same time period from 2023. The achievement is particularly noteworthy as automotive sales are traditionally slower at the beginning of the year after the year-end sales push in December.
After the first two months of 2024, total-industry-volume is estimated to have grown by 13.8% year-to-date to 129,353 units as an influx of new brands launching both traditional and EV models generates a lot of buyer interest. PROTON’s market share is forecast to be at 20.5%, placing it comfortably in second position in the overall national automotive sales ranking.
PROTON S70 DOMINATES SEGMENT, SAGA SALES EXCEEDS 6,000 UNITS
Launched at the end of November 2023 the newest addition to the PROTON family, the Proton S70, has unlocked pent up demand and interest from buyers in both domestic and international markets. Sales increased by 60.5% to 2,314 units in February, as production continues to ramp up, easily making it the most popular C-segment sedan in Malaysia. Offering spirited performance from a 1.5T engine and 7DCT gearbox as well as advanced connectivity and comprehensive safety features, the latest hit from PROTON is winning sales from various customer groups. With the upcoming Ramadan and Hari Raya celebrations on the horizon, it is expected to continue its stellar performance in Malaysia and its first export market, Brunei.
About to enter its 39th year of continuous production, the Proton Saga remains an attractive proposition to car buyers with its blend of features, driveability, and value. By selling 6,212 units in February, sales volume has exceeded the 6,000 unit a month barrier for a fifth consecutive month. More impressively, with a total of 12,341 units sold in the first two months of 2024, year-to-date sales for the model are now 10.9% higher than the previous year as the model once again demonstrates its position as a cornerstone for PROTON.
Apart from Proton S70, other models also ended February as sales leaders for their respective segments. Its B- segment sedan sister, the Proton Persona and the company’s flagship SUV, the Proton X90 both continued to reign in their categories respectively with the Proton Persona recording sales of 1,859 units while the Proton X90 was up by 2.5% to 374 units compared to previous month.
The Proton X50 meanwhile ended February in second place for B-segment SUVs, but still maintained a healthy level of sales with 1,816 units. As for the other PROTON models, the Proton X70 saw an uptick of 19.6% to 445 units while PROTON’s B-segment hatchback, the Proton Iriz, added 3.8% to close at 543 units. Finally, although production has ended for the Proton Exora, 39 units were sold in February and to date, over 194,250 units of the model have been sold, making it the most successful C-segment MPV in Malaysia’s automotive history.
It should also be noted that growth in export sales volume has played an important role in growing sales of PROTON vehicles. Notably, its export business leapfrogged by 223% to 346 units in February as compared to January this year while year-to-date export growth stands at 50.5% with 453 units sold to overseas markets this far.
“PROTON has continued its positive trajectory in the second month of the year with sales underpinned by consistent domestic demand as well as increasing export growth. Therefore, our export markets will be an important area of growth in 2024 and we also have high expectations for the Proton S70 to dominate its segment as deliveries continue to ramp up in the coming months. Having extended our footprint across many countries, we will continue to work diligently to bring PROTON models to greater heights in these export markets as we see them as having the potential to grow our sales significantly in the long term,” said Roslan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.
