06-05-2025
- Automotive
- New Straits Times
Proton April sales up 14.7pct, boosted by e.MAS 7 EV debut
KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd's sales increased 14.7 per cent in April, led by the brand's first electric vehicle (EV) model 7.
Proton's group sales closed the month at 12,692 units, which also pushed the company's market share to 20.8 per cent.
In comparison, total industry volume (TIV) for April is estimated to have grown by just 1.8 per cent year-on-year to 60,886 units and declined 16.3 per cent from March, reflecting slower sales during the festive period.
"The strong results have strengthened the company's grip on second position in the overall automotive sales table in Malaysia," it said in a statement.
"This comes at a time when offerings and price cuts from new brands have created an extremely competitive market environment, leaving car buyers with a wide range of options," it added.
The 7 has seen its numbers climb each month since its launch in December last year.
The trend continued in April as the model breached the 800-unit barrier by achieving 863 units. This brought year-to-date (YTD) sales to 2,716 units.
Proton said this positioned the model as the best-selling EV in the country and the Proton brand in second place for overall EV sales despite currently having only one model in its range.
"More importantly, the result means EVs now account for six per cent of overall Proton sales," said Proton.
Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said automotive sales in Malaysia continue to be robust with TIV in 2025 sits behind the record- setting pace from the previous year.
"Our figures show the deficit currently stands at five per cent, which is respectable after two big festive periods in the first four months of the year.
"With many new models slated for introduction over the next eight months, expect the gap to shrink as buyers are presented with a bevy of new options," he said.
Meanwhile, the Proton X50 took the lead in the B-segment SUV market last month.
A total of 2,389 units were sold in April, its highest volume for 2025. YTD sales climbed to 7,506 units as well as 420 units ahead of YTD sales from the previous year.
The Proton X90 remains the default choice for buyers looking for a D-segment SUV, with 194 units sold in April, bringing YTD sales to 873 units.
The Proton S70 remains as the dominant C-segment sedan model in Malaysia with another 1,716 units sold in April to boost its YTD total to 6,181 units.
As for Proton X70, its YTD sales stood at 2,839 units after it sold 682 units last month.
As for the other models, the Proton Saga achieved 5,213 sales last month, the Proton Persona finished the month as the second ranked B-segment sedan with 1,328 units
sold while the Proton Iriz posted 290 sales and currently sits fourth for B-segment hatchback sales.
Proton also saw export growth gathered momentum in April as the company had its best month for export sales in 2025.
A total of 520 units were exported last month led by the Proton X50, Proton Saga and Proton 7, the latter being previewed at The Car Expo in Singapore during the first weekend of May.
"Export sales remain a vital area of focus for Proton as we view it as the main driver of sales growth in the future. We continue to lay the groundwork for our expansion by adding our EV offerings to our export markets, which will help keep us ahead of the curve when EV adoption takes off overseas," added Roslan.
