since 1976
since 1976
Following an extraordinary year when Total Industry Volume (TIV) hit a record high of 813,521 units, Malaysian automotive sales receded as bumper sales the previous month and the Chinese New Year festive period took a toll on new car purchases. An estimated 50,278 units were sold in January 2025, a decrease of 38.7% compared to 81,987 units for December 2024 while against sales from January last year, volume has shrunk by 24.9% from the 66,925 units recorded twelve months ago.
In line with the industry downturn, group sales for PROTON in January 2025 closed at 9,914 units (domestic + export + Proton e.MAS + smart cars). This compares to 12,882 units (ICE cars only) reported for January 2024. Based on the estimated TIV figure, the company’s market share is therefore forecast at 19.7%, an increase from the overall figure of 18.7% last year. Highlights for the month include the Proton e.MAS 7 closing its first month of sales as the overall best-selling EV in Malaysia, export volume growing 86.9% year on year and three Proton models starting the year as segment sales leaders.
Proton e.MAS 7 is Malaysia’s best-selling EV with 25% of overall sales market share
Officially launched on 16 December following a comprehensive publicity campaign, the Proton e.MAS 7 has sparked strong interest from buyers looking to enter the EV market. Current bookings now exceed 4,000 units, and as a result, an additional 3,000 units are being offered with launch package benefits. Meanwhile, deliveries to customers have begun as cars started arriving in the new year.
For its first month, 421 units of the C-segment EV SUV have been delivered, placing it as the best-selling EV in Malaysia with a 25% share of the overall EV market for January. Delivered to owners via the 30 Proton e.MAS outlets currently in operation, over 80% of bookings are for the Premium model and the numbers are set to go up over coming months as more units arrive and more dealerships are opened.
“It took just one month for the Proton e.MAS 7 to lead national EV sales, proving Malaysians will make the switch to EVs when the product and price proposition are correct. By using cutting edge technologies mated to a brand new platform wrapped in a practical package, PROTON is able to offer its customers a product that can compete against any rival while delivering value and after sales care unmatched in the segment,” said Zhang Qiang, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.
Export volume starts 2025 with 86.9% growth while X50, X90 and S70 lead respective segments
Having invested in infrastructure with its overseas partners to grow export sales, PROTON is beginning to see some early returns. Export volume achieved its best ever opening month numbers since the first full year of collaboration with Geely in 2018 as 200 units were sent to export markets. This compares to just 107 units sold in the same month last year. Leading the way was the Proton Saga followed by the Proton X50 and Proton S70.
The Proton Saga was also the top-seller for the company in January with a cumulative total of 4,597 units. Its B- segment sedan sibling, the Proton Persona along with the B-segment hatchback Proton Iriz, chipped in 1,221 and 291 units each, respectively.
Leading the charge for segment sales meanwhile were the Proton X50 with 1,436 units sold, Proton X90 with 203 units sold and the Proton S70 with 1,143 units sold. Their individual performances meant Proton models start the year leading the B-segment SUV, D-segment SUV and C-segment sedan categories. The third SUV model, the Proton X70 continued its strong sales with 576 units sold in January.
“After unprecedented sales building activities by OEMs to close out 2024, there was a risk 2025 would begin slowly for the automotive industry. With a cumulative total of more than 1.6 million new vehicles sold the last two years, many buyers are in the early stages of ownership so the market would experience a temporary flux in the replacement cycle for new vehicles. Additionally, many new models were also launched over the previous twelve months, so industry players will have to work harder in 2025 to draw buyer interest in a saturated marketplace.
“For PROTON, the year has started with us gaining some market share as demand for our models outpaces the reduction in TIV. The numbers were helped by sales of the Proton e.MAS 7, so we expect sales of our new EV to continue boosting our monthly performance. As for the rest of 2025, we have already announced some plans involving new and current models, so we are hopeful of getting back on track to growing our overall sales volume this year,” said Roslan Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Edar.
