With the government providing the incentive of exempting sales tax (10% for locally-assembled models, 5% for CBU models), it seems that there is strong interest in buying new cars despite the gloomy situation we are experiencing.
Companies selling new as well as used cars are reporting strong sales and for Proton, the volume in October was reported to be 11,392 units (including exports), which it estimates to be a 21.3% share of the market’s Total Industry Volume (TIV).
The volume was a 20% increase over the same month in 2019 although it was 4.6% lower than September’s. However, according to Proton, three of its models were leaders in their respective market segment – in the B-segment with the Persona (2,360 units); SUV segment with the X70 (2,216 units); and the Exora which retains its customary position as the best-selling C-segment MPV.
Strong H2 performance overall
“The recovery of Malaysia’s automotive market is continuing to gather pace judging by the number of new model launches and total sales in October. We estimate the Total Industry Volume to be the second highest in 2020 with over 57,000 units sold, proof that the car industry is rebounding strongly,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar, adding that the numbers could have been better for Proton.
“Looking at the numbers, we noticed a significant drop in East Malaysia sales while the Central region was static compared to September. Part of this was due to the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) to limit the movement of people, thus affecting retailers. But there was also a sense of customers holding back before the launch of our newest model, the Proton X50. Regardless, PROTON is confident of ending the year well and using the results as a base to aim even higher in 2021,” he explained.
Bookings for Proton X50
The long-awaited X50 SUV was officially launched towards the end of October and over 27,400 bookings have already been received nationwide. The first 447 units have already been delivered to customers and further deliveries are ongoing.
We are pushing to ensure fulfilment over the last three months of 2020, while continuing to emphasise product quality,” Encik Roslan assured.
