The achievement means the company has outperformed the TIV for the Malaysian automotive market 

by TMR / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

NATIONAL car maker, Proton Holdings Bhd has sold 86,379 units for the first ten months of the year, exceeding its year-to-date (YTD) sales volume by 1.6% from last year. During the same period in 2020, Proton sold 84,999 units, the company said in a statement. In October, the car sales grew by 28.7% compared to the month of September, by selling 13,362 units. 

The achievement means the company has outperformed the Total Industry Volume (TIV) for the Malaysian automotive market, which has fallen by an estimated 4.7% despite selling more than 65,000 total units for the first time in 2021 in October. 

Forecast market share for the month is estimated at 20.5%, while the YTD market share figure now stands at 22.7%. 

Proton Saga continues to lead the sales with 5,107 units sold in October, marking the third time the model has breached the 5,000-unit barrier this year. YTD, the Saga also remains as the undisputed A-segment sedan volume leader and a favourite for buyers wanting an affordable car with up-to-date features and race-proven dynamics. 

Two other volume leaders for the company are its SUVs, the Proton X50 and Proton X70. The B-segment Proton X50 managed to achieve its best month since its launch with 3,839 units sold. Meanwhile, Proton X70 kept pace with 2,165 units in October, its best achievement since March this year. 

With only two months left in 2021, both the Proton X50 and Proton X70 are the best-selling models in their respective segments, and Proton said that this was an indication that buyers’ preferences are continuing to shift towards SUVs. 

“Proton’s sales in October can be summarised as a story of strong buyer demand and unrealised sales potential.

“While we are happy with the continued popularity of the Proton Saga and our achievement with the two SUVs, we missed out on adding more units to our final tally as we continue ramping up our supply of components,” Proton Edar CEO Roslan Abdullah (picture) said in a statement. 

Market demand however is expected to remain strong towards the end of year, so we are working diligently towards closing 2021 on a high note,” he added.
“Proton would like to thank the 

Malaysian government for extending the sales and services tax (SST) exemption. By doing so, it gives us a chance to fulfil the bookings we have already received and doesn’t unfairly penalise customers who are waiting due to circumstances beyond their control. 

“We predict the extension will also help to spur sales through the first half of next year when there could be more new models introduced to the market,” he said in response to the SST extension announced under Budget 2022 last week. 

As for the rest of the model range, the Proton Exora continued to dominate the C-segment MPV market with 359 units sold. 

The company noted that the 2022 Proton Iriz and Persona however, were badly affected by microchip shortages that limited their production volumes. 1,393 units of the Persona were sold in October while the Iriz chipped in just 497 units.