It was bound to happen someday – after five straight years of growth, Proton posted its first decline in a long while with 152,352 vehicles sold in 2024 – a minor decrease of 1.5% over the 154,611 it delivered the previous year. As usual, this figure includes both domestic and export sales.
This is despite the national carmaker coming off the back of a strong December, in which the company not only posted its second best month with 14,601 units sold (up 19.7% from November) but also managed to export 1,131 vehicles.
It also comes despite the total industry volume (TIV) tipped to have set another record last year with an estimated 813,521 units. As such, Proton’s market share is estimated to have shrunk to 18.7%, down from 19.4% in 2023. The company says it has had to endure intense competition from new brands and models, many of which are targeting the same pool of buyers as its own cars.
The good news is that having consolidated its place as the second best-selling carmaker in Malaysia, Proton has now held on to that position for six years in a row. As expected, the Saga continued to lead the charge with a total of 72,769 units sold last year, up 3.7% on 2023. The evergreen sedan, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, became the first Malaysian vehicle to sell over two million vehicles last May.
Also contributing strongly to the final figure is the X50, which was given a (very) minor RC refresh in June. Despite looking identical to the car it replaced, demand was so high for the updated B-segment SUV that it received 8,000 bookings within the first month of its launch. The car ended the year with 2,614 units sold in December (up 36.8% on November) and total sales of 23,647 units, making it the best-seller in its class for the fourth year running.
Next up was the S70, which concluded its first full year of production with a total of 19,182 units delivered, making it the most popular “C-segment” sedan – helped by December sales jumping 27.2% over the previous month to 1,670 units. It was followed closely by the smaller Persona, which recorded 9.6% higher sales in December at 1,528 units, bringing its total to 18,853 units.
Having received a major facelift in August, the X70 continued to hold its own amidst a rush of new C-segment SUVs last year, with total sales of 8,992 units – buoyed by year-end promotions pushing December sales up 36.7% to 1,456 units. Elsewhere, the Iriz‘s December sales were up 10% to 351 units for a total 2024 figure of 5,113 units, while the X90 completed its first full year of sales as the D-segment SUV champion, with total sales of 3,553 units.
“2024 was a remarkable year for Proton, as we put forth a tremendous effort to navigate intense market
competition while achieving significant milestones,” said Proton Edar CEO Roslan Abdullah. “Looking ahead to 2025, we will build on the continued popularity of the Proton Saga while the impressive sales of our SUV models like the Proton X50 and Proton X70 highlights their appeal to customers looking for intelligent premium models from a brand with proven long-term support for their customers.”
Proton also exported a total of 4,765 vehicles to 18 countries last year, a sizeable 31% jump compared to 2023. This figure was propped up massively by Egypt, accounting for 1,748 units thanks to the start of CKD local assembly there. The company also had a good year in Brunei, setting a new record with 1,200 units sold. As it does here, the Saga continues to be the lynchpin for Proton’s exports with sales of 2,906 units, followed by the X50 and S70.
“Proton made significant headway into our export business in 2024 despite challenges faced in some markets. We remain the volume leader for automotive exports from Malaysia and with the commencement of CKD operations in Egypt as well as exporting new models to other markets, we are confident of accelerating export sales growth in the coming years,” Roslan added.
The post Proton sells 152,352 vehicles in 2024, down 1.5% from 2023 – market share shrinks to 18.7%, 4,765 exports appeared first on Paul Tan’s Automotive News.
