Wednesday, April 07, 2021

Like Many Other Makes, Proton Cars Hit a Record High - Proton Sells 14,989 Units in March 2021



PROTON’s bullish start to 2021 continued in March as the company reported that they had not only achieved a new high point for the year but also achieved its best sales month since September 2013. Which seems like a loooong time ago especially in such pandemic ridden times. Proton sold  14,989 units (domestic + export) in March which is equivalent to a 26.2% increase over February and an estimated market share of 23.5%. So yes, the local brands are dominating the market but the thing is that every other established name out there seems to be also selling what they have due to the SST Rebate as well as increased demand for personal transport. No one wants to sit in public transport and get some virus it seems.

PROTON retained second position in the sales rankings table behind the other Malaysian brand, Perodua. For the 1st Quarter of 2021, the company achieved a cumulative sales total of 32,826 units and its highest quarterly market share figure since March 2012. Which in the automotive industry terms is a Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

PROTON also reports that their SUV sales continue to grow as other models achieve best figures for 2021. Deliveries for PROTON’s two SUV models, the X70 and smaller X50 continued to grow in March they state that their new production line at Tanjung Malim increased its output for the month to cope with the demand. 

Anyway, 3,513 units of the Proton X50 were delivered to customers while the Proton X70 saw a month on month increase of 58.4% to 2,337 units. When combined, it means PROTON set another internal record with 5,850 SUVs delivered, beating the previous record of 4,820 units that was set just last month. This main point to get from this is that Malaysians now love SUVs and PROTON is shaping up to be a producer of SUVs although their other models are still ever popular due to the target segment and price range.

The company’s top seller remains the very affordable and spacious for its price, Proton Saga and with 5,589 units delivered, sales for the A-segment sedan grew by 32.5% compared to February. The Proton Persona, Iriz and Exora also posted their best figures for the year with the evergreen MPV once again claiming the crown for highest C-segment MPV sales. Well, of course, not many are competing in that segment so its a good thing. Anyway, it has got to do with affordability as not many are competing in that segment. 

“After a soft start to the year, Malaysia’s automotive industry has finally hit its stride for 2021. We estimate TIV to be over 63,000 units, suggesting all brands will post their best numbers for the year. For PROTON, March was a very good sales month as we achieved our highest figure in 90 months but our sense of achievement is tempered by the fact that it could have been even better if we were able to produce more units." explained Roslan Abdullah CEO, Proton Edar. 

"As things stand, we still have a large order bank to fulfil so over the next few months, PROTON will strive to increase production while maintaining our focus on delivering high quality products. We are also mindful that PENJANA (SST rebate) incentives are currently due to expire by the end June, so we aim to ensure as many customers as possible are able to enjoy the tax holiday given by the government,” added Roslan 

These are indeed strange times. As stated in my previous post on Perodua's sales performance, everyone is hitting good numbers in terms of sales. Expect this to continue to at least the 2nd quarter of 2021 as the SST rebate continues till then. Maybe until the time where the issues relating to the pandemic settle, we may still see the need for more privately owned vehicles than a shift towards public transport. The numbers may continue even after the rebates are removed due to this if the Malaysian economy stays decently reliant. 

Increase in sales helps Proton Commerce Increase In-House Financing Options

Just as sales of Proton vehicles have grown this year PROTON’s in-house auto-financing subsidiary, Proton Commerce Sdn Bhd, has seen a similar increase in volume for financing of cars. Nearly 4,000 loans were disbursed in the first three months of 2021 with an estimated 1,700 going out in March alone. The latter figure is equivalent to a 122% growth over February and overall, disbursements for the first quarter of the year are up by 141% over 2020.

“While the increase in unit sales of Proton vehicles has been our main focus, it is important to acknowledge the growth in loan disbursements by Proton Commerce. This proves we are offering attractive financing packages to our customers and can compete against other players in the automotive finance market. More importantly, customers can enjoy the convenience of purchasing and financing their new Proton from our dealers, making our outlets a one-stop centre for all their Proton needs,”  added Roslan.

PROTON March 2021 – Individual Model Performance

Model No of units sold Sales achievement for March 2021

Saga 5,589 ▪ 2nd highest volume A-segment sedan

Persona 2,151 ▪ 3rd highest volume B-segment sedan

Exora 584 ▪ Highest volume C-segment MPV

Iriz 810 ▪ 3rd highest volume B-segment hatchback

X70 2,337 ▪ Highest volume C-segment SUV

X50 3,513 ▪ 2nd highest volume B-segment SUV

Total *14,989

*sales of other models not listed added to the total sales figure.

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