PROTON SEES BEST YEAR SINCE 2012
154,611 units were sold last year, a 9.3pc increase from 141,432 in 2022
PROTON Holdings Bhd closed last year by posting its best sales performance since 2012, achieving a fifth consecutive year of sales growth.
Last month alone, 12,711 units were sold, bringing the total number of sales (domestic and export) to 154,611 units at the end of last year.
According to a statement from Proton, this was a 9.3 per cent increase over the 141,432 units sold in 2022.
Based on a second recordbreaking year for the total industry volume of an estimated 794,948 units, or 10.3 per cent more than the previous year, the company’s overall market share was estimated to be 19.4 per cent.
Proton consequently finished the year ranked second in overall sales, marking the fifth consecutive year that it has held this position.
Its chief executive officer, Li Chunrong, said last year was yet another record-breaking year for the automotive sector, with total sales rising 10.3 per cent over the previous volume high, which was reached the a year before.
He added that factors, such as fulfilling orders for tax-free cars until the end of March, fueled the volume increase in the first quarter of last year, but it was also an active year for car launches with minimal disruptions caused by parts shortages.
“Proton is thankful for the warm reception of Malaysians towards our products. This year, we are confident that we will sustain this momentum, supported by the introduction of our new model, the S70,” he noted.
The launch of its three-sports utility vehicle (SUV) lineup — consisting of the Proton X50, Proton X70, and Proton X90 — has added more than 200,000 units to the company’s total sales since December 2018.
However, it was the rebound in demand for the PIES models (Persona, Iriz, Exora, and Saga) that powered sales growth last year.
The Saga started and ended the year as the best-selling Proton model, notching an impressive 70,184 units sold — its best performance since 2012 — and positioning it as the fourth best-selling vehicle in Malaysia last year.
Volume growth was a remarkable 25.6 per cent for the year.
Proton noted that the Persona was its top-performing model.
After suffering severe delays due to chip shortages in 2022, Proton said sales for the B-segment sedan rebounded by 48.9 per cent to 24,362 units, placing the model second in its class.
Its B-segment hatchback sister car, the Iriz, was equally affected by the chip issue last year and posted a tidy 33.8 per cent increase in sales to 7,639 units last year.
In its final year of production, the Exora signed off with a sales increase of 4.6 per cent, ending the year with 4,473 units sold and showing that demand among target market buyers remains strong.
To date, over 194,000 units have been sold, making it the most successful C-segment multi-purpose vehicle in Malaysia’s automotive history.
As for the X-series SUVs, the X50 and X90 ended the year as market leaders for their respective segments.
Even after more than 100,000 units have been produced and sold, demand for the X50 remained strong, with 31,829 units sold in Malaysia and export markets last year.
The X90, meanwhile, continued to be the dominant force in the D-segment SUV market and ended the year with 4,815 units sold since its launch on May 7 last year.
The X70 was the second most popular C-segment SUV last year, with 11,200 units sold.
S70 customer deliveries will begin this year, and to date, more than 5,000 bookings have been received.