PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd has sold 126,682 units year-to-date (YTD) November, surpassing the 114,708 units it sold in the whole of 2021 by 10.4%.
In a statement yesterday, the national carmaker said sales so far had been its best since 2014. “With 126,682 units thus far, the company is on track to have its best sales year since 2013.”
Proton said it had sold 11,316 units in November, despite grappling with temporary supply issues that led to a month-on-month decrease of 13.1% compared to October 2022.
“Market share for the month is estimated to be 17.7% and for the year, Proton retains its hold on second position in the sales table with 19.7% of total vehicle sales.
“It is also estimated that total industry volume for 2022 will set a record and approach 700,000 units, as Malaysia’s automotive market enjoyed a fourth consecutive month of more than 60,000 sales,” it said.
Individually, the automaker said five Proton models have already exceeded its total volume from 2021; with two models, the Proton X50 and Proton Exora, leading their respective segments the whole year.
The company said export sales have also increased by over 2,000 units from the previous year as YTD sales now stand at 5,028 units compared to 3,018 for the whole of the previous year.
“November was an eventful sales month for Proton as we experienced some temporary supply issues that prevented us from achieving our full potential. We are confident of being able to rectify them in December and remain positive about closing out the year strongly.
“Proton will end 2022 with a fourth consecutive year of sales growth.
“Aside from benefiting the company, the increase in sales has also increased the volume of parts purchased from local vendors, increased our number of dealers and created jobs for the automotive ecosystem,” it said.
With new model introductions in the pipeline for 2023, Proton deputy chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah (pic) said Proton hopes to increase its contribution to the Malaysian economy by making more local investments, selling more vehicles and further growing its export markets.
Additionally, Proton said it had produced the 10,000th 1.5 TGDI engine at its new Tanjung Malim engine assembly line on Dec 1.
The 10,000th 1.5 TGDI engine produced by Proton is part of the company’s commitment to invest RM1.8bil to upgrade its facilities in Tanjung Malim and the culmination of a journey that began in 2019 that was taken under challenging conditions.
“Having made the decision to build the new assembly line in Tanjung Malim, construction and the delivery of parts was delayed by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nevertheless, a decision was made to move forwards while the country underwent a movement control order.”
Proton said the operational expansion plan is in line with the first strategic thrust of the DRB-Hicom Automotive High Technology Valley programme that aims to maximise manufacturing activities in the region.
