PROTON Market Share at 7-Year High

PROTON managed to hit a market share it has not reached in about 7 years. Despite February being a short month, it was also a productive one for PROTON as it delivered 11,873 units to achieve this (combined domestic and export total). PROTON had its best February in over a decade, equivalent to an estimated market share of 27.1%, the highest for the company since September 2013.

Overall in February, PROTON ranked second with sales nearly doubling the January 2021 total of 5,964 units. Compared to February 2020, sales volume had grown by 19.9%. However, overall, the total for the first two months of the year is still 643 units or 3.5% behind 2020’s cumulative total.

X50 and Saga Lead the Charge

PROTON launched its second SUV, the Proton X50, on 27 October 2020 and the response from Malaysians is overwhelming. The company received over 30,000 bookings for the X50 before the end of the year. However, delays to the production schedule as well as the focus on build quality meant delivery was delayed. With 3,345 units delivered in February, a total of 8,141 units are now in the hands of buyers as supply slowly catches up to demand.

This figure is also the highest monthly volume ever achieved by an SUV in Malaysia and therefore makes the Proton X50 the best-selling SUV in its segment and overall. Including the 1,475 units of Proton X70 delivered in February (the highest for a C-segment SUV), the company sold a total of 4,820 SUVs, its best ever performance and the most for any brand in the country.

The Proton Saga still remains the best-selling model with 4,217 units delivered. PROTON’s A-segment sedan remains a popular choice amongst car buyers who value its combination of practicality, attractive design and value for money proposition. The sedan also spread its wings by being the first Proton model to go on sale in Kenya on 25 February, where it is locally assembled by PROTON’s partner, Simba Corporation.

Other Proton models that performed well includes the Proton Persona which leads in the B-segment sedan category with 1,818 units delivered. Further, the Proton Exora remains at the head of the C-segment MPV market while the Proton Iriz grabbed third place for B-segment hatchbacks.

“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.

“The automotive sector continues to be vibrant with exciting new model launches sure to spark consumer interest and create healthy competition amongst PROTON and other brands, but we will continue to be cautious even as we push forward to avoid infection rates flaring up again and disrupting operations,” said Roslan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.

February also saw PROTON launch four Special Edition models. The Proton Persona and Exora Black Edition as well as the Proton Saga and Iriz R3 Limited Edition were unveiled online and are available in limited numbers. As of 26 February, 1,169 bookings have been placed from a total production run of just 3,500 units indicating strong interest from buyers.

Focus on Revamping After-sales

PROTON’s 10-year strategy required the company to completely overhaul several operational areas in order to succeed. For example, of immediate importance was to improve product quality and today, PROTON’s quality scores have improved to the point of almost matching those of its partner, Geely. The distribution network was also drastically changed and today, the company has the most 3S/4S facilities in the industry, and has moved its focus to a wholesale rather than consumer driven business.

These measures have been effective with PROTON posting some of the highest sales growth numbers for the industry over the last two years. This year, the focus is on the improvement of the entire after-sales value chain so that customers can enjoy a premium brand experience after buying their cars.

“PROTON admits that some aspects of our business have not been able to keep up with our recent successes. While we have dramatically moved forwards in product quality, brand image and the technology offered in our cars, our after sales service has not made the same leap. This situation was exacerbated in 2020 by firstly Covid-19 and then our decision to invest in a completely new back-end ordering and delivery system.

“As a result, 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,” added Roslan Abdullah.