KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Proton Holdings Bhd’s (Proton) sales surged 107 per cent month-on-month to 9,225 units in February this year, allowing it to reclaim its number two spot in the nation’s automotive sales ranking.
“Proton’s domestic market share for the month was estimated at 20.2 per cent, while for the first two months of the year, the cumulative market share was estimated to be at 15.9 per cent,” it said in a statement today.
The carmaker noted that its production line was badly affected by unresolved flooding issues in January.
Proton Edar’s chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said the rebound in sales was a direct result of the company being able to produce more cars through the joint efforts of its vendors and Proton’s staff.
“We remain hopeful of realising our targets for this year,” he said.
According to Proton, its sales numbers had increased across the board following the full resumption of production by its Shah Alam and Tanjung Malim manufacturing plants.
It added that for the first two months of 2022 (2M2022), export sales rose by 72.8 per cent year-on-year to 323 units from 187 units in 2M2021.
The Proton X50 and Proton X70 closed February with sales of 3,002 units and 1,119 units, respectively, allowing both to retain their first place position in their respective segments.
“Proton X50 was also the best-selling sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the country, attracting over 100,000 bookings in just 16 months.
“Proton Exora also returned to the head of the C-segment multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) category while big improvements for the Proton Iriz and Proton Persona models saw them ending the month in the fourth and second position in their respective segments,” it said.
On another note, Roslan said Proton is taking steps to improve the quality of its after-sales service for its customers.
“Proton is aware of the issues on the after sales and availability of parts. Our customers have reached out to us, and we deeply regret any inconvenience caused.
“We take every complaint seriously and the senior management has identified several bottlenecks and operational issues that require fixing,” he said.
In terms of the availability of parts, Roslan said Proton has implemented a mandatory requirement where all dealers are required to have three months holding stock of 22 fast-moving parts.
“We are also strengthening the capability and knowledge of our dealers to provide excellent after-sales service to all Proton customers.
“There is still a lot left to do but we will give updates on our progress throughout the year,” he added.
