Proton sold 15,017 cars in April

by NUR HANANI AZMAN / pic by TMR FILE

PROTON Holdings Bhd sold 15,017 cars in April in domestic and export markets, an increase of 0.18% from March for an estimated market share of 26.7%.

The national carmaker continued to strengthen its hold in the second position in sales volume with market share for the year estimated at 24.4%.

Its overall volume now stands at 47,843 units for the first four months of the year.

Proton Edar Sdn Bhd CEO Roslan Abdullah said the evergreen Proton Saga returned to the top of the national sales chart with 5,472 units sold in April.

“Although the number is a slight reduction compared to the previous month, demand for Proton’s best-seller remains healthy and ahead of the number of units supplied.

“Proton X50 set yet another new high for deliveries with 3,583 units delivered in April, while the Proton X70 extended its dominance in the C-segment SUV category with 2,101 units delivered,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The combined figure of 5,684 units was the second-best SUV sales month for the company, only slightly behind the record set in March.

Meanwhile, Proton Persona achieved 2,266 units, earning the second spot in its segment despite strong competition in the B-segment sedan market.

Proton Exora contributed to 616 units sold and continues to rule the C-segment MPV class.

The carmaker delivered 974 units of Proton Iriz last month — its best sales month since 2019 — boosted by strong demand for the R3 limited edition model.

“April was a good month for the automotive industry and aside from Proton, several other brands also had their best month of the year so far.

“Total industry volume is estimated to be over 56,000 units as all brands are trying to fulfil sales orders before the expiry of the short-term National Economic Recovery Plan, or Penjana, sales tax incentives at the end of June,” Roslan said.

He said Proton continues its efforts to meet the strong demand for its products while maintaining a high level of product quality.

At the same time, he said Proton is focusing on improving customer service and addressing issues related to spare parts availability, which is vital to its sales volume increase.

“We estimate the situation will see significant improvement as the year progresses, but we are working hard to move up that timeline,” he said.

Besides the increase in sales volume, Proton held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new stamping plant at its Tanjung Malim factory in Perak, last month.

The RM200 million facility is expected to become operational by the third quarter of 2022.

The new plant would allow the company to stamp out much larger body panels.

“As Proton’s sales and distribution arm, Proton Edar views the investment in the new stamping plant as a positive development.

“The benefits of improved production volumes, lower costs and increased quality will allow us to increase sales exponentially both domestically and abroad, which will drive the company towards achieving its stated long-term goals,” Roslan said.

Shares of DRB-Hicom Bhd, Proton’s major shareholder, closed two sen or 1.05% lower to RM1.89 yesterday, valuing the company at RM3.65 billion.