Proton has announced that it sold 7,615 units for the month of June, the company’s second highest sales figure for the year following that achieved last month, in which 10,611 units were shifted. The numbers for the month are good enough to put the national automaker behind market leader Perodua.

For the month of June, Proton said it ended up with a market share of 18.1%, its highest since July 2015. The company also reported that its sales were 23% higher than the same month last year, and said that June’s numbers have also contributed to an overall sales growth of 61% for the first six months of 2019, putting it on track to achieve its 2019 sales targets.

Leading the way is of course the X70 SUV, of which 15,175 units have been sold in the first half of the year. Meanwhile, the automaker delivered 2,541 units of the Saga in June, and bookings for the the updated Persona, Iriz and Exora enjoyed a growth of 108%, 180% and 135% respectively (in comparison to their pre-booking numbers).

“By achieving a market share of 18.1% in June, Proton continues to show positive sales growth this year despite the tough market conditions following the Hari Raya holidays. Our year to date market share currently stands at 14.7% and is a big improvement of our 2018 figure of 10.8%,” said Proton CEO Li Chunrong.

“For the second half of the year, we will concentrate on building our sales and exciting the market by introducing new and updated models as we promised at the beginning of the year,” he added.