PROTON Nets 50% Year-On-Year Growth

National carmaker PROTON ends the first quarter of 2023 still on a high note as it sold a total of 40,287 vehicles. This represents a 50.9% year-on-year growth compared to the same period in 2022. The 14,573 vehicles sold in the month of March are a total of domestic and export sales, and is a 3.8% increase from February.

PROTON estimates its market share for March to be about 18.7%, keeping the brand in 2nd place in the sales table. By quarter, its estimated market share is 21.2%. This makes PROTON the biggest gainer in terms of market share as its quarterly share grew by 4.5% compared to Q1 2022.

Car sales in March 2023 had reached a new record high as Total Industry Volume (TIV) is estimated to be approximately 78,000 vehicles, breaking the previous high of 76,657 units in December 2022.

PROTON had 3 models lead segment sales. Sales of the Persona rebounded after component supply disruption which affected production, as well as the introduction of new models to the competitive B-segment sedan market. PROTON had managed to turn the Persona’s fortunes around, selling 2,421 units in March 2023. In comparison, it delivered only 5 units in July 2022. Total sales for the quarter is 6,773 units, an increase of 79.2%, making it the best-selling B-segment sedan for the 3rd consecutive month.

Meanwhile, the popularity of the Proton X50 had never been challenged since its introduction in October 2020. This B-segment SUV continues to lead not only its segment, but is still the best-selling SUV in Malaysia. In March 2023, 3,414 units of the X50 were sold, with Quarter 1 sales totalling 9,668 units, a growth of 34.7% over the same period in 2022.

The Proton Exora also remains as the best-selling C-segment MPV in the country, with 426 units sold in March.

But in terms of absolute volume, the Proton Saga continues to be the company’s best-seller. For the 2nd consecutive month, sales of the Saga broke the 6,000-unit barrier with 6,313 units sold in March. The quarterly total for Saga is 17,446 units, a year-on-year increase of 84.6%. This growth rate however is skewed by the production disruption due to severe floods at the beginning of 2022. The Saga is the 2nd best-selling A-segment sedan in the market.

“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 three 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 ten-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 Nets 50% Year-On-Year Growth

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