KUALA LUMPUR (June 2): Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd's (Proton) vehicles sale dropped 37.15% to 9,440 units in May compared to April, tracking Malaysia’s total industry volume (TIV) decline of about 20%.

The company said the dip in sales in May was due to chip shortages and the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the middle of the month.

“Despite most industry players having healthy order books, most brands struggled to meet demand,” said Proton Edar chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah.

“For Proton, our numbers were high enough to retain second overall in the sales table and we also received a welcome boost from our export division [which] set a 98-month high despite restrictions on international shipping,” Roslan said in a statement.

Proton said the latest figure comprises both 8,771 domestic sales and 669 export sales — Proton’s best monthly international figure since March 2013.

“As a result, total export sales for 2021 are now less than 100 units behind the total for the whole of last year,” it said.

The national automaker sold 15,017 units in April, with 14,673 units sold locally.

“Up to the end of May, total volume stands at 57,283 units with a year-to-date market share of 23.5%, an increase of 2.4% over the previous year,” Proton said.

Four of the company’s passenger models topped their respective class, including A-segment sedan Proton Saga (3,786), SUVs Proton X50 (1,899) and Proton X70 (1,523), and C-segment MPV Proton Exora.

Moving forward, the company said it will utilise the MCO break to retool its sales plan for the rest of 2021.

“To remain competitive in an unpredictable environment, Proton along with its vendors and dealers need to have the flexibility to pivot quickly to take advantage of unexpected opportunities,” Roslan said.

“We are also finalising our model launch plans for the rest of this year. The current MCO will push some of these dates back, but Proton remains committed to meeting our launch targets and creating some excitement for our customers in 2021,” he added.

Shares in Proton’s 50.1%-parent company DRB-Hicom Bhd rose two sen or 1.12% to RM1.80 today, valuing the group at RM3.48 billion.