Proton ends first quarter with 39,150 units sold
KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd ended the first quarter of the year on a positive note with an overall sales of 39,150 vehicles, including 12,666 units last month.
“With no external factors encouraging sales growth this year, the numbers achieved offer a more accurate reading of market demand,” said Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah in a statement yesterday.
After setting a new sales record last year, Proton said the total industry volume (TIV) for the Malaysian automotive market was estimated to be at 202,492 units for the first three months of the year, or a 5.1 per cent year-onyear growth.
Proton’s market share was estimated to be at 19.3 per cent, it added.
The company said Saga achieved its best first quarter volume since 2013 with 18,247 units sold, including 5,906 last month. This makes it the second most popular sedan in the A-segment market.
The national carmaker registered 2,072 units of the S70 last month to bring its first quarter sales total to 5,828 units.
Proton said production of the S70, now its second best-selling model, was slowly catching up to demand.
The Persona saw sales of 1,665 units in March, bringing its quarterly total to 5,370 units, making it the second most popular B-segment sedan in the country.
Proton sold 468 units of the Iriz last month and 1,534 units for the quarter.
Moving forward, Roslan said the automotive industry remained buoyant.
“Proton will work closely with our vendors to produce more units of our best-selling models while continuing to build our export sales volume.”
Meanwhile, Ansa Motors, the importer and distributor for Proton in Trinidad and Tobago, debuted the X50 and X90 March 13.
“It is another step in Proton’s export sales growth efforts as we look to raise the contribution of export sales to our annual sales volume,” said Roslan.