Proton Vehicle Sales Momentum Continued In August 2020

For the second month in a row, vehicle sales in Malaysia has continued moving upwards. Last month (August 2020) saw Total Industry Volume (TIV) breach the 50,000 unit barrier for the second consecutive month. This happened despite a number of public holidays reducing the number of business days. The strong consumer demand is likely powered by the tax-free incentives and meant that most automotive brands posted strong sales numbers to make up for lost ground in early 2020.

PROTON’s August performance is its second best month of the year. A total of 11,378 units were sold, a reduction of 14 percent from July 2020, but still an improvement of 24.7 percent over the same month in 2019. Market share for the month is forecast at 21.6 percent while year-to-date market share is estimated to be slightly higher at 21.7 percent.

Three PROTON Models Lead Their Segment

PROTON’s year-to-date sales in 2020 is 61,672 units, 46 units ahead of the same period in 2019. This achievement is particularly noteworthy as sales in March, April and May were affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) which restricted business operations and consumer spending.

Nonetheless, three PROTON models ended August as sales leaders in their respective segments. The Proton Persona and Proton Exora continue to lead their segments with the former holding off strong challenges from rivals from foreign brands. The Proton X70 meanwhile, remains as the best-selling SUV in Malaysia, extending its lead further in the segment.

“PROTON is pleasantly surprised by how quickly we have been able to recover the lost sales during the MCO period, as it only took us three months to get back on track. By exceeding our YTD volume in August 2019 we are quietly confident of recovery from the headwinds of COVID-19. The positive effect this has on the company, our employees and the vendor community cannot be understated and we hope to continue this trend until the end of the year so as to give the automotive industry ecosystem a strong boost,” said Roslan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.

Sales Breakdown by Model

The breakdown of sales by model for August 2020 is as follows:

• Saga : 4784 units – 2nd highest volume for A-segment sedan; 2nd highest sales result in 2020
• Persona : 2411 units – Highest volume B-segment sedan; 3rd highest sales result in 2020
• Exora : 630 – Highest volume C-segment MPV; 2nd highest sales result in 2020
• Iriz : 762 – 3rd highest volume B segment hatchback
• X70 : 2791 – Highest volume SUV across all SUV segments; 3rd highest sales ever since launch