With 12,799 vehicles (domestic + export) delivered in October, the cumulative sales volume of Proton for 2024 reached 125,557 units as it stays on track to achieve a sixth consecutive year of sales growth.
The October volume was an increase of 13.6% over the previous month, which is expected to give an estimated market share of 18.1% of the Total Industry Volume (TIV) of sales in October. After 10 months of the year, Proton’s share of the market is almost 19%.
The rise in sales numbers are indicative of the start of the year-end push by car companies as the final quarter started. Although the Malaysian Automotive Association was initially cautious about the TIV for this year and forecast a total of 740,000 units, it revised the number to 765,000 units in July after seeing how the market was buoyant during the first half of the year.
Leadership in 3 segments
As Malaysian products, it’s not surprising that Proton’s models sell in the largest numbers and are leaders in their segment or among the top two or three. The Saga, now in its third generation since being launched in 1985, remains the brand’s bestseller, while the youngest models such as the X50, S70 and X90 are leaders in the B, C and D segments, respectively.
Challenging months ahead
“The final quarter of 2024 will be a challenging time for automotive players. An influx of new brands and products together with the drive to meet sales targets and end the year strongly will see multiple offers for new car buyers. In the short term, this will result in a second consecutive year of TIV exceeding 800,000 units, but it is an unsustainable long-term business strategy and affects residual values. Therefore, Proton remains focused on ensuring we preserve the value of our customers’ cars by raising product quality and delivering a class-leading sales and service experience via our 157 3S/4S outlets nationwide,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar.
Looking ahead, Encik Roslan said the company will build the foundation to become a major presence in the EV market, with 36 dealers representing the brand. “Our first EV, the Proton e.MAS 7, has already been previewed to thousands of potential buyers and will have its grand launch in December. At the same time, work is continuing to offer more value to current Proton owners via OTA updates that improve the user experience in all our intelligent models,” he said.
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