SHAH ALAM: National carmaker Proton sold 15,103 units in July (domestic and export) to post a strong start to the second half of the year and cement its hold on second place in the automotive sales table.
Sales volume rebounded by 37.3% over the previous month, when a planned plant shutdown for scheduled operations improvement activities affected production numbers, resulting in the highest closing figure since September 2022.
Total year-to-date sales (YTD) up to the end of July stand at 88,799 units. Total industry volume (TIV) for the month is estimated to be 73,761 units, an increase of 27.1% over the previous month while the estimated market share for Proton in July has increased to 20.5%.
Sales grow across the model range as Proton Saga achieves its best sales in over a decade.
Proton’s sales growth in July was led by the Proton Saga, Malaysia’s favourite car that continues to attract thousands of buyers in its 39th year of continuous production.
An impressive 7,855 units were sold in July, which is the best achievement for the model since October 2013.
This brings total YTD sales for the Saga to 42,693 units, which is 8.8% ahead of sales from 2023 and sets it on course for a stellar sales year.
Other Proton models also achieved sparkling results. A month after returning to the top of the B-segment SUV class, the Proton X50 achieved its best sales month of the year as the 2024 Proton X50 recaptured the attention of SUV buyers. 2,585 units were sold in July, bringing YTD sales to 12,789 units.
The Proton Persona also recorded its best sales month of 2024 with 1,911 units sold bringing its YTD total to 11,664 units.
Its class leading C-segment brother, the Proton S70, sold 1,636 units in July and has a cumulative YTD figure of 12,550 units.
Combined, total sales of the Persona and S70 places Proton as the leader of B and C-segment sedan sales proving the strategy to pursue sedan sales with two different models has been
successfully executed.
As for the other Proton models, the Proton X70 sold 302 units in July as stocks get depleted in preparation for the launch of the 2025 Proton X70.
Meanwhile the Proton Iriz achieved 537 units while the Proton X90 D-segment SUV registered 277 sales.
“July has been the best sales month for Proton in 2024 so far, setting the tone for what we hope is a productive second half of 2024. There are many plans to be executed in the coming months, starting with the 2025 Proton X70 which will be launched in August. At the same time, the groundwork for the launch of Proton’s first EV model is also proceeding rapidly, which will lead to the launch of the first Malaysian EV,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar.
