KUALA LUMPUR: National carmaker Proton achieved its fifth consecutive year of sales growth in 2023 with total sales (domestic and export) of 154,611 units, its strongest performance since 2012.
This represented a 9.3% increase over the 141,432 units sold in 2022, the company said in a statement today.
Proton calculated its market share in 2023 to be 19.4% based on the projected total industry volume of 794,948 units for the year, up 10.3% from 2022.
With December sales reaching 12,711 units, the company said it also finished the year ranked second in overall sales, which is also the fifth year in a row it has maintained its position.
Proton finished the year ranked second in overall sales, continuing a five-year trend of maintaining its position in the rankings.
CEO Li Chunrong said the automotive industry set another record in 2023 when overall sales increased by 10.3% above the previous volume high reached just a year before.
“Factors such as the fulfilment of orders for tax-free cars up till the end of March no doubt fuelled the volume increase in the first quarter of the year, but it was also an active year for car launches with minimal disruptions caused by parts shortages,” he said.
The launch of Proton’s three-model sport utility vehicle (SUV) model lineup consisting of the Proton X50, Proton X70 and Proton X90 has added more than 200,000 units to total sales since December 2018, but it was the rebound in demand for the “PIES” models (Persona, Iriz, Exora and Saga) that powered sales growth in 2023
The Proton Saga started and ended the year as the best-selling Proton model, notching an impressive 70,184 units sold, its best performance since 2012, and positioning it as the fourth best-selling vehicle in Malaysia for 2023.
Volume growth was a remarkable 25.6% for the year, consisting mainly of first-time car buyers.
The biggest gainer in Proton’s model lineup was the Proton Persona.
After suffering severe delays due to chip shortages in 2022, sales for the B-segment sedan rebounded by 48.9% to 24,362 units, placing the model second in its class.
In its final year of production, the Proton Exora signed off with a sales increase of 4.6%, ending the year with 4,473 units sold and showing that demand amongst target market buyers remains strong.
To date, over 194,000 units have been sold, making it the most successful C-segment multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in Malaysia’s automotive history.
The Proton X50 remains strong, with 31,829 units sold in Malaysia and export markets in 2023.
As for the Proton S70, Proton said that client deliveries are scheduled to start in 2024 and with over 5,000 reservations made thus far, it is anticipated that the model will make a significant contribution to sales figures this year. – Bernama
