Proton sold 14,573 units in March 2023 – Q1 total up 50.9% at 40,287 units; X50, Saga, Exora lead segments

Proton has announced its sales performance for the month of March as well as during the first quarter of 2023. Last month saw the carmaker sell a total of 14,573 cars (including exports), which represents a 3.8% increase over February and 11.9% more than same month in 2022.

This brings the company’s total year-to-date sales ending Q1 2023 to 40,287 units, which is 50.9% more than the same period last year. In terms of market share, Proton estimated based on its internal data that it reached 18.7% for the month of March, allowing it to maintain second place in the rankings.

It also estimated its market share to be 21.2% for the quarter, making it the biggest gainer compared to Q1 2022 with a 4.5% growth. Proton expects total industry volume (TIV) for the month of to hit a record high of 78,000 units, breaking the previous high of 76,657 units set in December 2022.

This is likely because March 31 was the deadline for cars to be registered in order to benefit from the sales tax exemption, provided the booking was made during the exemption period that ended on June 30, 2022.

In terms of models, the Saga once again remained the company’s best-seller with 6,313 units sold in March and a total of 17,446 units in Q1, the latter being an 84.6% increase from last year. Deliveries of the larger Persona reached 2,421 units in March, which is enough for it to lead the B-segment sedan market – the model’s Q1 sales reached 6,773 units.

Another leader in its segment is the X50 that saw 3,429 units delivered in March and 9,668 units in Q1 (+34.7% compared to the same period in 2022), allowing to remain as the highest volume B-segment SUV and overall best-selling SUV in the country. The Exora also retained its title of best-selling C-segment MPV with 426 units in March and 1,094 units in Q1.

As for other models, 712 units of the Iriz were delivered last month for a total Q1 figure of 2,120 units, while the X70 notched up 1,272 deliveries that contributed to the 3,186 units tallied during the first three months of 2023.

“The first quarter of 2023 has been exceptionally good for Proton and our achievement of over 40,000 units sold is something we are justifiably proud of. However, we must consider that sales for the first three months were inflated because brands were rushing to deliver cars for bookings made during the Penjana incentive period. This is especially true for this month as the deadline to deliver those bookings was March 31, 2023, helping to explain the record estimated TIV number of 78,000 units, said Roslan Abdullah, deputy CEO of Proton.

“A better reflection of market sentiment would emerge by the end of Q2, but we remain confident of maintaining our sales momentum. We will be launching the Proton X90 soon and will also have more additions to the range later in the year,” he continued.

“At the same time, we recently announced our commitment to expanding our future New Energy Vehicle (NEV) offerings and this will take the brand into new market segments as we seek out long-term growth to fulfill our ten-year plan. Yes, the runway to Malaysia being a hub for next generation vehicles is still long but Proton is excited to lead the automotive industry to new horizons in the future,” he ended.

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