Proton market shares hit seven-year high at 27.1 pct with 11,873 units delivered in February

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd has delivered 11,873 cars in February (domestic and export) to reach a seven-year market high, equivalent to 27.1 per cent automotive market share, the highest since September 2013.

Proton said in a statement today that it finished the month ranked second in Malaysia with sales nearly doubling the January 2021 total of 5,964 units.

"Compared with the same month in 2020, volume has grown by 19.9 per cent, though overall, the total for the first two months of the year is still 643 units or 3.5 per cent behind last year's cumulative total," it said, adding that its second SUV, the Proton X50 which was launched on Oct 27, 2020, has achieved new monthly high with 3,345 units delivered in February.

Proton said a total of 1,475 units of the Proton X70 were also delivered in February (the highest for a C-segment SUV), and the company sold a combined total of 4,820 SUVs, its best-ever performance and the most for any brand in the country.

"The model with the highest sales, however, is still the Proton Saga. With 4,217 units delivered, the A-segment sedan remains a popular choice among car buyers who value its combination of practicality, attractive design and value for money proposition.

"The sedan also spread its wings by being the first Proton model to go on sale in Kenya on Feb 25, where it is locally assembled by Proton's partner Simba Corporation.

"Other Proton models also performed well. The Proton Persona regained its leadership in the B-segment sedan category by finishing the month with 1,818 units delivered, beating its highly acclaimed newer rivals in the process," it said.

It added that the Proton Exora remained at the head of the C-segment MPV market while the Proton Iriz grabbed third place for B-segment hatchbacks.

Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said February continued to be a difficult month for Malaysia's automotive industry, but it turned out very well for Proton as it was able to produce more cars and in so doing started to clear its backlog of orders during the movement control order (MCO) period.

"This is important as we need to consistently deliver on the bookings made to avoid a rush before the PENJANA incentives expire at the end of June this year.

"The automotive sector continues to be vibrant with exciting new model launches sure to spark consumer interest and create healthy competition among Proton and other brands, but we will continue to be cautious even as we push forward to avoid infection rates flaring up again and disrupting operations," he said.

Proton said this month also saw the launch of four special edition models. The Proton Persona and Exora Black Edition as well as the Proton Saga and Iriz R3 Limited Edition were unveiled online on Feb 18 and received a total of 1,169 bookings from a total production run of just 3,500 units as of Feb 26.

This year, Proton's focus is on the improvement of the entire after sales value chain so that customers can enjoy a premium brand experience after buying their cars.

"Proton admits that some aspects of our business have not been able to keep up with our recent successes. We have experienced integration issues and customers requiring accident repairs as well as regular servicing have faced delays.

"We are working on these issues around the clock to overcome them in the shortest time possible, but for now, I urge all Proton owners facing delays to please contact our customer care hotline at 1-800-88-8398," he added.

-- BERNAMA