It took 40 months, but Proton has climbed back to second position for total sales in the Malaysian automotive market. July was the clincher on the back of 8,590 vehicles sold and the seventh consecutive month of forward momentum. Proton is reportedly the only car company to achieve this performance in 2019.

[ The last time Proton was in a similar position was March 2016; and 2015 for the last time it was second in a calendar year ]

Proton’s market share in July is estimated at 16.5 per cent with a Total Industry Volume (TIV) estimated at 51,960 units. The company predicts that eventual overall market share for 2019 to be 15 per cent.

So far in 2019, Proton has sold 52,269 cars compared to 35,561 units in the same period in 2018, equivalent to a 47 per cent improvement. A key factor to consider is that the months of June to August last year was boosted by the tax holiday which saw every single car company showing healthy sales. Despite not enjoying this boost anymore, Proton is evidently still selling well.

The star performer is still Proton’s first SUV – the Proton X70. With 1,932 units sold in the month of July and a total of 17,023 units for 2019 so far, it also still leads the SUV segment. Next best is the new Persona which was launched in April and already recorded 2,720 units sold in July alone. This makes it the best-selling B-segment car in Malaysia, a corner of the market which is traditionally dominated by Japanese makes. Sales of the Persona is up by 3 per cent year-on-year with 10,034 units delivered so far.

The Proton Saga and Iriz also did well in July with 2,381 units and 974 units delivered respectively. The latter sees 3,035 units sold within the first seven months this year, or 53 per cent better than the same period last year. Proton reckons that this is thanks to the updates given to the hatchback, also launched together with the Persona. Back to the Proton Saga, 17,722 units has been delivered between January and July, also an impressive 14 per cent improvement Y-O-Y.

But more is coming - you see, the Proton Saga is also getting an update and it’s coming real soon, which you will see next week. So, expect the Saga numbers to climb further.