April 2023 marks the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year sales growth for Proton as all indicators point towards a strong year for the carmaker. Taking into consideration a shortened sales and production month due to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities, Proton still sold 9,415 units (domestic and export).
Those figures bring the 2023 year-to-date (YTD) total to 49,702 units, a 39.8 percent increase over the corresponding period in 2022.
Furthermore, that also sees Proton being the only top-5 ranked brand with sales growth in April 2023, boosting its market share to 20.4 percent and maintaining its second position in the national automotive sales charts.
Overall, sales in April receded by over 41.4 percent following a record-setting March 2023 that saw the total-industry-volume (TIV) decrease due to the aforementioned holiday period as well as the ending of the delivery period for SST-exempted orders.
Nonetheless, Proton can still count on 3 models being segment leaders.
The Proton X50 continues its reign as the best-selling SUV, and by default, the best-selling B-segment SUV, accounting for 2,644 units in April.
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In the B-segment sedan corner, the Proton Persona saw 1,263 units delivered in April 2023. That positions it as the overall leader for the B-segment sedan market after four months of cumulative sales.
Lastly, the Proton Exora soldiers with 465 units sold in April 2023, bringing the YTD total to 1,559 units.
Overall, the Proton Saga continues as the best-selling Proton model for sales with 3,949 units delivered, bringing its 2023 total to 21,395 units. Nonetheless, it’s still second in the A-segment sedan charts behind the Perodua Bezza.
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The Proton X70 and Proton Iriz contributed 756 units and 338 units respectively, placing them third and fourth in their segments.
“Due to the Hari Raya holidays affecting production and sales activities for the entire automotive industry as well as the expiry of the grace period for orders received during the tax-free period, we had forecast April to close with lower sales numbers. Therefore, we are extremely thankful to our customers for helping us become the only brand to achieve sales growth compared to April 2022,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Proton.
However, with the Proton X90 now officially launched to complete their three-pronged SUV offerings, the initial sales drive will surely see numbers increase for the next few months.
“The company will soon have a three model SUV range to strengthen our position in the segment as well as its first model in the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) market. This will help form a good base for our future model offerings and give Proton’s network of outlets invaluable experience in selling and servicing these vehicles,” added Roslan.
In terms of export, April 2023 represented Proton’s best month yet this year with 187 units shipped overseas. The Saga once again leads the export table, followed by the X50 and X70. Total export sales for 2023 stands at 603 units.
Source: Proton continues sales growth, Persona remains the best-selling B-segment sedan for the year