Proton sales back on track in August

By NST Business September 2, 2020 @ 7:02pm

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd posted its second best month of the year with 11,378 units sold, down 14 per cent from July but 24.7 per cent more than the same month in 2019. 

The company said market share for the month was forecast at 21.6 per cent while year-to-date market share might slightly be higher at 21.7 per cent. 

Three Proton models ended August as sales leaders in their respective segments.

Proton said with 61,672 sales so far in 2020, its year-to-date sales as at August were 46 units ahead of the same period from the previous year. 

"The achievement is particularly noteworthy as sales in March, April and May were affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the rise of coronavirus infections.

"The Persona and Exora continue to lead their segments with the former holding off strong challenges from rivals from foreign brands. 

"The X70, meanwhile, remains as the best-selling SUV in Malaysia, extending its lead further in the segment," it said.

Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said the company was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it had been able to recover the lost sales during the MCO period, as it had only taken it three months to get back on track.

"By exceeding our year-to-date volume in August 2019, we are quietly confident of recovery from the headwinds of Covid-19. 

"The positive effect this has on the company, our employees and the vendor community cannot be understated and we hope to continue this trend until the end of the year so as to give the automotive industry ecosystem a strong boost," he said.