CEO Morning Brief

Proton's Annual Sales Up Less Than 1% in 2024, Defends Second Spot for Sixth Year

edgeinvest
Publish date: Tue, 07 Jan 2025, 10:26 AM
edgeinvest
0 28,330
TheEdge CEO Morning Brief

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 6): Proton Holdings Bhd, in which DRB-Hicom Bhd (KL:DRBHCOM) owns a 50.1% stake, concluded 2024 with 152,352 cars sold, retaining its second-place position in the local market for the sixth year running.

Proton recorded car sales of 151,000 units in 2023.

The national carmaker saw its vehicle sales rise 19.7% month-on-month to 14,601 units in December from 12,296 units in November, driven by higher exports with 1,131 units shipped overseas.

The annual sales in 2024, however, fell short of DRB-Hicom's initial target of 160,000 units. DRB-Hicom’s management was quoted by the media as saying the initial annual target in June last year.

Malaysia's automotive sales are set to achieve another record-breaking year in 2024, with total industry volume (TIV) projected to reach 813,521 units. Proton is expected to capture 18.7% of market share, the carmaker said in a statement on Monday.

“2024 was a remarkable year for Proton, as we put forth a tremendous effort to navigate intense market competition while achieving significant milestones,” Proton’s distribution arm Proton Edar Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said.

Higher exports to Egypt

In 2024, Proton exported to 18 countries, with export sales increasing by 31% year-on-year (y-o-y), mainly driven by higher volume to Egypt.

Sales to Egypt boosted Proton’s total export volume in December to 1,113 units, bringing the total to 4,765 units in 2024.

Egypt emerged as the top export destination, with 1,748 units exported in 2024, followed by Brunei, with 1,200 units exported, setting a new record for the country.

“We remain the volume leader for automotive exports from Malaysia, and with the commencement of CKD (completely knocked down) operations in Egypt as well as exporting new models to other markets, we are confident of accelerating export sales growth in the coming years,” Roslan said.

As for the model breakdown, the Proton Saga topped the chart with 2,906 units, contributing to 61% of the overall export volume, while the Proton X50 and Proton S70 followed closely behind.

“Looking ahead to 2025, we will build on the continued popularity of the Proton Saga, while the impressive sales of our SUV (sport utility vehicle) models like the Proton X50 and Proton X70 highlight their appeal to customers looking for intelligent premium models from a brand with proven long-term support for their customers,” he added.

Saga remains the top-selling model after 40 years.

Although the model has been on sale for four decades, it remained the bestselling Proton model in 2024, up 3.7% y-o-y to 72,769 units sold.

The Saga is the only national car with sales of over two million units as at June 2024.

Its sedan sibling, the S70, saw 19,182 units delivered in 2024, making it the country's most popular C-segment sedan (compact sedan).

Source: TheEdge - 7 Jan 2025

Related Stocks
Discussions
Be the first to like this. Showing 0 of 0 comments

Post a Comment