since 1976
since 1976
PROTON has closed its books for the first six months of the year with an increase in market share for the Malaysian automotive market. Group sales in June amounted to 11,069 units, a slight increase over the same month in 2024, while total year to date (YTD) sales is recorded as 72,156 units the second highest in the industry.
Market share for the month is estimated to be at 20.7%, an increase of 1.1% over the previous month and 1.2% ahead of the YTD figure of 19.5%. Conversely, Total Industry Volume (TIV) is estimated to have closed at 53,500 units in June, a reduction of 21% compared to the TIV figure of 68.007 in May.
Proton X50 continues to lead segment as order books open for all-new model
One of the constants for PROTON’s sales performance has been the strong performance of its B-segment SUV model, the Proton X50. Launched in October 2020, over 140,000 units have been sold in Malaysia and overseas markets, firmly cementing its position as the sales in its class for five years in a row.
For June 2025, 1,657 units of the Proton X50 were sold, keeping it ahead of all competitors in the class. The total includes 353 units for the export market where the model accounts for 47% of the company’s total export volume. For the first half of the year 11,361 units have been sold, marking an increase of 11.3% over the first six months of 2024.
While sales of the current model remain strong, PROTON is launching an all-new Proton X50 in July. Featuring revised styling, a new interior, a 1.5 i-GT engine, and ADAS 2.0, prelaunch bookings for the model started on 5 July following a promotional event. This kicked off a series of activities leading up to model’s launch later in the month.
Three Proton models continue to lead sales for respective segments
Depressed market conditions in June resulted in lower sales compared to May but there were three Proton models that ended the month as segment leaders. One of these was the Proton X50 while the other two were the Proton X90 and Proton S70, which continued to lead the D-segment SUV and C-segment sedan markets, respectively.
174 units of the X90 and 1,402 units of the S70 were sold in June keeping them ahead of their rivals. As for the remaining Proton models, sales of the Proton Saga remained strong with 5,206 units while the Proton Persona and Proton Iriz achieved sales of 1,171 units and 288 units to place themselves in third and fourth place in their segments.
The model with the highest sales growth figure for the first half of 2025 is the Proton X70. 533 units were sold in June to bring its six-month total number to 4,354 units, an increase of 46.3% over its 2024 numbers and proof the improvements introduced in the 2025 model have resonated with buyers of
“After performing strongly in May, automotive sales dropped by 15,000 units in June due to external factors such as rising tensions in the Middle East and the expansion of the scope of SST affecting buyer sentiment. Despite this, PROTON managed to outperform the market to increase our market share percentage ahead of a busy second half of the year where we have a full slate of events and model introductions. With new models arriving in our showrooms, the outlook is for the company to have a stronger second half to 2025 as we seek to increase sales for our ICE and EV offerings,” said Zhang Qiang, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.
Export and EV sales seen as growth engines for PROTON
While sales in the domestic market were dampened, PROTON’s export division continued to surge ahead in June. A further 414 units were exported to various overseas markets last month, 56.8% more than in June 2024, to raise total exports from the first half of the year to 2,250 units. This represents an increase of 39.9%, a gap that should widen in the scond half of the year as the Proton e.MAS 7 is launched in more export countries.
Speaking of the Proton e.MAS 7, the company’s sole EV model continues to outperform all other EVs and ends the first half of 2025 with 4,253 units sold in domestic and export markets. With a 24% share of the local EV market, Proton e.MAS is poised to grow its market share with the addition of more models to its lineup in the future.
“The bulk of PROTON’s current sales volume is taken up by domestic ICE vehicles, but export and EV sales have tremendous future growth potential. We forecast a steady increase in export sales as the company explores more new markets. As for EV sales, the market is expanding as more infrastructure is established and the confidence gap closes for buyers who remain on the fence, so we are hopeful of a quantum leap in sales with the introduction of more Proton e.MAS models,” added Zhang Qiang.
