Proton has announced that it sold 14,147 units (including exports) in December 2021, which is slightly less than the 14,187 units delivered in November 2021. The result means the national carmaker ended 2021 with a total of 114,708 units sold (domestic + 3,108 units exported), its highest since 2014.

Proton’s total sales in 2021 represents an increase of 4.5% from the 109,716 units delivered in 2020 and marks the third consecutive year it exceeded the 100,000-unit mark. Prior to 2020, the company delivered 100,821 units in 2019 and 64,744 units in 2018 – the latter is based on data from the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).

According to Proton, its market share in December 2021 is estimated to be 20.6%, but for the whole of 2021, the figure is said to stand at 22.7%. This is an increase of around 2% from 2020 when referring to MAA’s data, and the company said it “continues to strengthen its hold on second place while further closing the gap to the top of the sales rankings.”

“2021 was tough for the automotive industry as a whole and this is reflected in the reduction in TIV compared to the previous year. From a global chip shortage to a spike in Covid-19 numbers that lead to another lockdown to skyrocketing transport costs, there were many challenges for industry players to overcome,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar.

“That is why Proton’s sales growth in a year where the market contracted is significant as it is the result of careful planning and juggling of available resources,” he added.

On a model-to-model basis, the Saga was Proton’s best-seller, accounting for 42,267 units sold (including CKD packs), followed by the X50 (28,774 units), X70 (16,375 units), Persona (16,153 units), Iriz (6,708 units) and finally, the Exora (4,035 units). It should be noted that sales of other models not listed in Proton’s release were added to the total sales figure of 114,708 units.