KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — Proton Holdings Bhd’s positive sales momentum carried over from August to September as the national automotive company posted a fourth consecutive month of positive year-on-year growth.
Sales for September jumped to 11,935 units — the second highest for 2020 — which represented a growth of 4.9 per cent over August and 33.6 per cent over the same month in 2019, it said.
“Total sales for the year now stand at 73,607 units, 4.3 per cent ahead of last year and equivalent to an estimated 21.6 per cent market share, placing the company second in Malaysia’s automotive sales table,” Proton said in a statement yesterday.
Similar to August, three Proton models continued to lead sales in their respective classes. The Proton X70 continued to dominate the sport utility vehicle (SUV) market overall and posted its second best sales month of 2020 with 2,849 units sold, the company said.
The Proton Persona and Proton Exora also remained as the best-selling models in their class, it said, adding that both models were now expected to end the year as cumulative sales leaders.
“With total industry volume (TIV) exceeding 50,000 units for a third month in a row, Malaysia’s automotive market has achieved a measure of stability post-movement control order. At Proton, we are relieved and confident as our results are showing consistency, as we have beat our monthly sales numbers from the previous year.
“This is a clear indicator of a return to a sustainable sales volume,” said Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah.
Proton’s next all-new model will be the Proton X50. On September 15 the company held a roll-off ceremony at its assembly plant in Tanjung Malim and opened its order books the next day.
Just two weeks after doing so, the bookings had already exceeded expectations, Proton said.
“Proton would like to thank all its customers for the tremendous interest shown in the Proton X50. We are pushing to ensure fulfilment over the last three months of 2020, while continuing to emphasise product quality,” added Roslan. — Bernama
