Proton said May was the best month for exports, with 217 units sold, led by the Proton Saga.
PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd has sold 13,268 vehicles (domestic and export) last month – an increase of 40.9% over April and 35.5% over May 2022.
“Sales for the first five months of the year stood at 62,970 units – a year-on-year increase of 38.9%, the highest for any brand in the country’s automotive sales table.
“Meanwhile, total industry volume is estimated to have rebounded by 32.2% in May, closing at 61,600 units and as a result, our market share is calculated as 21.5% for the month and 20.9% for the year,” Proton said in a statement.
The carmaker said the Proton brand entered a new export market in May, its first market for 2023 and 12th overall, when it debuted on May 24 in Mozambique.
Aside from entering a new market, Proton said May was also the best month for export with 217 units sold, led by the Proton Saga.
As for overall sales, the Proton Saga retained its position as the best-selling model with 5,819 units sold in May.
The achievement placed it second overall for A-segment sedans with 27,214 units sold so far – a remarkable increase of 51% over the previous year, Proton said.
The Proton X50 continues to lead B-segment and overall sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales with 2,801 units in May.
Despite finishing second for B-segment sedan sales last month with 2,290 units, the Proton Persona remained the overall leader for the segment while the evergreen Proton Exora achieved 440 sales to stay ahead of the C-segment multi-purpose vehicle market.
“Year-to-date (y-t-d) sales growth for the three segment leaders are 31% for the Proton X50, 78% for the Proton Persona and 39% for the Proton Exora, proving demand for Proton remains strong despite competition from newer rivals.
“This remains true for the Proton Iriz too as the 732 units sold in May had helped it achieve a 47% increase in y-t-d sales,” it said.Proton said 929 units of the Proton X70 were sold in May while 257 units of the all-new Proton X90 were sold – placing it second in the D-segment SUV market.
Deputy chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said the demand for the Proton X90 has been strong as customers took advantage of its early bird package that offered accessories, a Proton X-Watch, data package with 4GB free for five years, and enhanced insurance benefits.
“The company will have more new product launches and introduce updates to our existing range while making our debut in the electric vehicle market via our subsidiary Pro-Net,” he added.
