Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 3): Proton Holdings Bhd said today that its November 2019 car sales volume grew 100% year-on-year to 9,643 units as its Proton Saga model reclaimed the top spot for A-segment sedans in Malaysia, and as the Proton X70 sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales rose above 2,000 units.

In a statement, Proton said cumulative sales volume year-to-date grew 50.1% to 89,476 units, from a year earlier.

"Market share has also grown and is estimated to now be at 16.2% for the whole of 2019.

"The Proton Saga posted a third consecutive month of sales breaking the 4,000 unit barrier, as 4,091 cars were delivered in November. This allowed PROTON’s newest model to return to the top of the A-segment sedan sales table and with 34,422 sold so far in 2019, its volume growth now stands at an impressive 32%, by far the best for any model in the segment," Proton said.

Proton chief executive officer Dr Li Chunrong said in the statement that the Saga model has been a big success for Proton since the Saga's launch in August 2019.

"In just four months, we have already achieved more than 35,000 bookings and currently, every unit our factory can deliver has been spoken for. Our challenge therefore is to increase our production capacity for the Saga and we have had intensive discussions with our vendors to work towards a volume increase next year,” Li said.

Meanwhile, the Proton X70, which was launched on Dec 12, 2018, saw better sales volume in November 2019, when more than 2,000 units were sold, according to Li.

"It enabled Proton to enter a new segment with zero market experience and a year later, we have emerged as the undisputed sales leader. As the first anniversary of its market introduction approaches, sales have picked up in volume and in November, more than 2,000 units were sold.

"The uptrend shows customers are still keenly interested in the most intelligent SUV on sale and we target to grow that interest in the coming year,” he said.

Proton's Tanjung Malim plant is a crucial highlight. Li said as the new plant's extension approaches commencement of production activities, Proton’s engineers have pledged to deliver products that match or are better in quality than vehicles produced by other members of the Geely Auto Group.

“Proton has been tasked to be one of the centres of right hand drive production for the group, so for this to happen, our production quality must match the level achieved by other group members. This is a very tough goal to achieve but I am confident the company has the necessary engineers and production line workers who are determined to prove Malaysian-built vehicles are comparable to rivals globally,” Li said.

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