Proton delivered 11,873 units in February, of which 3,345 units were contributed by the new X50. Since production and deliveries began in November 2020, Proton has delivered 8,141 units of X50 models.
Based on internal intelligence, the sales figures put Proton with a market share of 27.1%, the highest for the company since September 2013.
As always, the main contributor (about 40%) to Proton’s sales was once again the Proton Saga which sold 4,217 units. Proton also started sales of the locally-assembled compact sedan in Kenya with its partner, Simba Corporation.
Contrary to rumours of many X50 prospects switching their bookings to the X70 due to the long waiting period, the sales of the X70 seems to be on a slowdown.
Deliveries averaged just under 1,200 units per month, half of what it was garnering in 2020. Nonetheless, with 1,475 sold in February, the Proton X70 still continues to be the most popular C-segment SUV in Malaysia.
The Persona continues to provide great volume for Proton and its dealers, moving 1,818 units last month, regaining its top position in the sedan B-segment.
The remaining thousand-over units of sales in February were supplied by the Iriz and Exora models.
“February continued to be a difficult month for Malaysia’s automotive industry but it turned out very well for Proton. Thanks to the efforts of the government to ensure a continuation of economic activity during the MCO, we were able to produce more cars and in so doing started to clear our backlog of orders. This is important as we need to consistently deliver on the bookings made to avoid a rush before the PENJANA incentives expire at the end of June this year,” said CEO of Proton Edar, Roslan Abdullah.
After concentrating on revamping dealerships and product line-up, Proton moved to its next phase of transformation with the full upgrade of its after-sales delivery system through the installation of a new back-end ordering and delivery system.
Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly, and customers were severely affected. Roslan said, “We have experienced integration issues and customers requiring accident repairs as well as regular servicing have faced delays.
“We are working on these issues around the clock to overcome them in the shortest time possible but for now I urge all Proton owners facing delays to please contact our customer care hotline at 1-800-88-8398,” he concluded.
February saw the national carmaker launch a series of limited-edition models with the introduction of the motorsport-themed Saga R3 and Iriz R3. As of 26th February, 1,169 bookings have been placed from a total production of just 3,500 units indicating a strong interest from buyers.
