Proton sales jump in July

The 45.7% increase is eight-year high for car maker

PETALING JAYA: Sales for Proton Holdings Bhd jumped 45.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 13,216 units in July, marking an eight-year high for the national car company.

In a statement yesterday, Proton said sales were spurred by strong demand for four core models, namely the Saga, X70, Persona and Exora.

“With 13,216 units sold, July was Proton’s best sales month in 2020 thus far and is also its highest monthly sales volume since June 2012. Four models ended July as sales leaders in their respective segments, as overall sales grew by 37.3% over June 2020 and increased by 45.7% over the same month in 2019.”

An analyst said the surge in sales could be attributed to the government’s tax incentives.

“The recovery in car sales last month can be credited to the sales tax-holiday that commenced on June 15.

“Furthermore, with the economic uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic, we see more people downgrading to cheaper vehicles, especially national makes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Proton said its year-to-date market share as at July 2020 stood at approximately 21.8%, a growth of 6.7% over the same time period last year.

“With this growth in sales, the volume gap compared to 2019 for Proton had shrunk to just 4.2% (50,294 units compared with 52,499 units previously), which is significantly less than the forecast gap for total industry volume (TIV) at 33% (230,929 units compared with 347,177 units).”

The Saga led sales for Proton in July, with the company selling 5,421 units during the month.

The national car company said sales of the Saga were boosted by all 1,100 units of the Saga Anniversary Edition being booked within five days of launch on July 9.

“It was also the highest number achieved by the model since April 2014.”

Additionally, 3,087 units of the X70 sports utility vehicle (SUV) were sold last month, making it the best-selling SUV in Malaysia and increasing its market share to 25.6% (4.3% higher than 2019).

“The company sold 3,043 units of the Persona in July, as the model cemented its position at the top of the B-segment sedan sales table.

“The Exora meanwhile saw sales of 792 units, its best sales month since August 2016, which ensures its reign atop the C-segment multi-purpose vehicle market remains unchallenged,” said Proton.

On its outlook for the month of August, the national car company said it will look to continue to excite the market and stimulate sales in preparation for more model introductions later in the year.

Proton’s total domestic and export sales for 2019 surged by 36,077 units or 55.7% y-o-y to 100,821 units. Proton’s car sales had in fact surpassed the 64,744 units sold in entire 2018 by September 2019. In January, the group had set a target to sell 132,000 vehicles this year.