since 1976
since 1976
Following nearly three months of difficult market conditions due to Covid-19 prevention measures, national car maker PROTON is aiming to finish 2021 strongly. This follows a resumption in production, sales, and export activities, which is expected to contribute towards increased sales volume beginning in September.
From June to August 2021, PROTON managed to achieve a total volume of 5,354 units, comprising a mix of online registrations and exports. Limited production was undertaken at the company’s plant in Tanjung Malim after Perak was declared a Phase 2 state on 5 July, but this was for a limited time due to a shortage of parts from vendors located in Selangor. Up to the end of August, total volume was 62,637 units, an increase of 1.6% over the same period in 2020.
“Our total sales volume up to August reflects PROTON’s strong performance over the first five months of the year. 2021 has been challenging for the automotive industry as lockdowns, chip shortages and a number of other issues have stunted sales growth, but we are confident of an industry-wide surge in numbers over the final four months of the year,” said Roslan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.
With production at both its plants now restored, PROTON is also able to resume export activities to export markets. For example, Pakistan will receive three shipments of the Proton X70 amounting to about 108 units in September along with CKD packs of the Proton Saga ahead of its roll-out, now estimated to take place at the end of October.
One of the keys to the company being able to reopen its factories and outlets has been the success of its PIKAS vaccination plan. The latest figures show that over 93% of PROTON staff are fully vaccinated while over 75% of employees at vendors and dealers are also similarly classified. Therefore, the entire PROTON ecosystem is close to being allowed to operate at 100% of capacity based on the current SOPs for reopening of plants and business premises.
“Aside from Malaysian market customers, PROTON’s export markets have also benefitted from the resumption of production activities. It’s still too early to tell how quickly we can fulfil our outstanding orders, but we are closing the gap every day.
“Additionally, the success of our vaccination programme will be vital to our performance for the rest of year. By having a fully vaccinated workforce, we can reassure the market that PROTON has taken every conceivable step to make it safe for fully vaccinated customers to visit our showrooms and service centres,” added Roslan Abdullah.
PROTON June - August 2021 – Individual Model Performance (online registration + export)
Model |
No of units sold |
Saga |
1,645 |
Persona |
1,091 |
Exora |
303 |
Iriz |
753 |
X70 |
790 |
X50 |
764 |
Total |
*5,354 |
*sales of other models not listed added to the total sales figure
