KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 5): National carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd ended the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22) with another strong month of sales that contributed to its best quarter of the year, and helped it smash through a key milestone.

In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 5), the company said the 14,872 units sold in September (domestically plus exports) mean it now has a cumulative year-to-date (YTD) sales total of 102,353 units, a jump of 40.2% from the first nine months of 2021.

The carmaker said this is the fourth consecutive year the 100,000-unit barrier has been exceeded and by doing it last month, the achievement came two months earlier than in 2021.

Proton also said that when compared to its rivals, it remained second in the sales table, with an estimated market share of 23.8% in September.

It said its YTD market share has exceeded 20% for the first time this year, sitting at 20.1%.

Meanwhile, Proton said overall total industry volume in September is estimated to have receded to approximately 62,500 units, the fourth best total of the year, as the Malaysian automotive market continued its march towards posting its best sales year.

The company said sales of its Saga and X50 continued to climb as production numbers remained stable.

The carmaker added that after starting the year with a slew of parts availability issues due to lingering effects of the December floods, Covid-19, and a global microchip shortage, its production volumes have stabilised, allowing the company to deliver more units to waiting customers.

It said this was most apparent with the X50, the bestselling sport utility vehicle in Malaysia, which has historically struggled to meet demand since its launch in October 2020.

With 4,517 units delivered in September, more than 4,000 units have been delivered for four consecutive months, leading to a cumulative YTD total of 29,591 and marking a 78.2% jump over the first nine months of 2021.

Proton deputy chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said 3Q22 is the carmaker's best quarter of the year so far, coming in with 42,229 units sold.

“This was made possible by a combination of stability in our production numbers as well as continued strong appeal of our models, especially for the 2022 Proton Saga and the Proton X50.

“Therefore, despite the poor start to the year, we are confident of achieving a fourth consecutive year of double-digit sales growth.

“Aside from concentrating on sales growth, the last quarter also saw us laying the groundwork for future growth,” he said.