National carmaker PROTON finished the first quarter of 2023 still on a good note as it achieved a 50.9% growth over the same period of 2022. In the first 3 months of 2023, PROTON sold a total of 40,287 vehicles. In the month of March, PROTON sold 14,573 vehicles (domestic and export), up 3.8% over February.
PROTON estimates its market share for March at around 18.7%, keeping it in 2nd place in the sales table. For the quarter, its market share is estimated to be 21.2%, which makes PROTON the biggest gainer in terms of market share, with growth of 4.5% compared to Q1 2022. Overall car sales in March had reached a new record high with Total Industry Volume (TIV) estimated at 78,000 units, breaking the previous high of 76,657 units in December 2022.
For PROTON, 3 of its models were segment sales leaders last month. One of them, the Persona, had a comeback of sorts due to disruption in component supply as well as the introduction of other models in the highly competitive B-segment sedan category. In March, PROTON sold 2,421 units of Persona, making it the segment leader for the 3rd consecutive month. In contrast, it delivered only 5 units in July 2022. Total sales for the quarter for the Persona was 6,773 units, an increase of 79.2%.
Meanwhile, the Proton X50 continues to be popular and has never been challenged since its introduction in October 2020. The X50 continues to lead not just the B-segment SUV class but it is also the best-selling SUV in Malaysia. PROTON sold 3,414 of the X50 in March, with total Q1 sales amounting to 9,668 units, a growth of 34.7% over the same period in 2022. The Proton Exora also remains sales leader in the C-segment MPV with 426 units sold in March.
Overall, the Saga continues to be the company’s best-selling model. For the 2nd consecutive month, it has broken the 6,000-unit barrier with 6,313 units sold. Total quarterly sales is 17,446 units, up 84.6% year-on-year. This growth however is skewed by the interruption caused by the severe floods at the beginning of 2022.
“The first quarter of 2023 has been exceptionally good for PROTON and our achievement of over 40,000 units sold is something we are justifiably proud of. However, we must consider that sales for the first 3 months were inflated because brands were rushing to deliver cars for bookings made during the PENJANA incentive period. This is especially true for this month as the deadline to deliver those bookings was 31 March 2023, helping to explain the record estimated TIV number of 78,000 units,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, PROTON.
“A better reflection of market sentiment would emerge by the end of Q2, but we remain confident of maintaining our sales momentum. We will be launching the Proton X90 soon and will also have more additions to the range later in the year. At the same time, we recently announced our commitment to expanding our future New Energy Vehicle (NEV) offerings and this will take the brand into new market segments as we seek out long-term growth to fulfill our 10-year plan. Yes, the runway to Malaysia being a hub for Next Generation Vehicles (NxGV) is still long but PROTON is excited to lead the automotive industry to new horizons in the future,” he added.
Keyword: PROTON Ends First Quarter With 50.9% Growth