PETALING JAYA: Proton has closed its books for the first six months of the year with an increased share of the Malaysian automotive market.
Group sales in June amounted to 11,069 units, a slight increase over the same month in 2024, while total year-to-date (YTD) sales totalled 72,156 units, the second highest in the industry.
Market share for the month is estimated to be at 20.7%, an increase of 1.1% over the previous month and 1.2% ahead of the YTD figure of 19.5%. Conversely, total industry volume (TIV) is estimated to have closed at 53,500 units in June, a reduction of 21% compared to the TIV figure of 68.007 in May.
One of the constants for Proton’s sales performance has been the strong performance of its B-segment SUV model, the Proton X50. Launched in October 2020, over 140,000 units have been sold in Malaysia and overseas markets, firmly cementing its position as the sales in its class for five years in a row.
For June 2025, 1,657 units of the Proton X50 were sold, keeping it ahead of all competitors in the class. The total includes 353 units for the export market where the model accounts for 47% of the company’s total export volume.
For the first half of the year 11,361 units have been sold, marking an increase of 11.3% over the first six months of 2024. While sales of the current model remain strong, Proton is launching an all-new Proton X50 this month.
Depressed market conditions in June resulted in lower sales compared to May but there were three Proton models that ended the month as segment leaders. One of these was the Proton X50 while the other two were the Proton X90 and Proton S70, which continued to lead the D-segment SUV and C-segment sedan markets, respectively.
The model with the highest sales growth figure for the first half of 2025 is the Proton X70.
“After performing strongly in May, automotive sales dropped by 15,000 units in June due to external factors such as rising tensions in the Middle East and the expansion of the scope of SST affecting buyer sentiment. Despite this, Proton managed to outperform the market to increase our market share percentage ahead of a busy second half of the year where we have a full slate of events and model introductions. With new models arriving in our showrooms, the outlook is for the company to have a stronger second half to 2025 as we seek to increase sales for our ICE and EV offerings,” said Proton Edar deputy CEO Zhang Qiang.
