KUALA LUMPUR (April 4): National car maker Proton Holdings Bhd’s sales in March rose 41.2% month-on-month to 13,028 units for a market share of 19%.

In a statement Monday (April 4), the company said for the quarter, cumulative sales from January to March closed at 26,706 units with a cumulative market share of 17.5%, good enough to be ranked second in the overall table despite a reduction in sales of 18.6% and a 5.7% contraction in market share compared to the first quarter of 2021 (1Q21).

Proton said while total sales for March were down by 13% compared to the same month in 2021, the company still posted some noteworthy results.

It said sales of the Proton Saga, a model that was severely affected in January, hit 6,422 units in March, its best effort since November 2013.

It said this not only made the Saga the sales leader for A-segment sedans but also the best-selling A-segment model overall.

Helping to power the Saga’s numbers was a growth in export sales.

With a total of 794 units exported in March, the company achieved its highest export sales figure in 108 months.

Pakistan was by far the biggest export market, accounting for 690 units while overall 1Q export volume totalled 1,117 units, an increase of 175% over the same quarter last year.

As for the other models, the Proton X70, Proton X50 and Proton Exora retained leadership in their respective segments with sales of 2,320 units, 1,573 units and 536 units.

The Proton Persona and Proton Iriz, meanwhile, finished third and fourth in their respective segments as stiff competition and parts shortages continued to affect sales.

Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said the first three months of 2022 had been tough for Proton.

He said production issues continued to suppress the company’s true potential and as a result, created a long waiting list for cars.

“Our parts supply and hence, production volumes, began to stabilise in March but we’re expecting a few more disruptions in the coming months as other industries ramp up their production.

“For the rest of the year, however, Proton is still aiming to hit our targets as we work closely with our vendors and dealers to smooth out supply lines to deliver cars to our customers.

“We are also making progress with sorting out our after sales issues and therefore, the company is confident it can rebound strongly over the next quarter,” he said.