WOW! Proton Hits Best Export Sales Month Since March 2013!

Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton) shines through the hardships of the ongoing lockdown with its successful performance of its international sales division. 

Reaching the best export sales month since March 2013 (a gap of 98 months), Proton managed to deliver 669 units just in the month of May this year. 

Following that, the total Year-To-Date (YTD) volume until the end of May has almost doubled at 174 percent, exceeding its set target and was only 6 percent behind 2020’s entire achievement. 

The increase of the company’s export sales are a result of increased demands in a number of major markets. Among them are Pakistan, Egypt and Brunei.

Pakistan is a relatively new market for Proton but has shown the most successful performance in the first five months of this year. The second largest export market is Egypt’s distributor Alpha Ezz El-Arab, followed by Brunei’s Pad Motor that recorded the company’s best sales month in May. 

“At the beginning of the year, our plan for 2021 was to aggressively grow PROTON’s export sales volume. Despite international restrictions and the rising cost of shipping caused by the coronavirus, we were confident of being able to meet our goals due to the sales plans of our importers and the appeal of our products. 

After five months however we are close to doubling the volume target set, which hopefully is a sign for more success in 2021,” said its international sales director Steven Xu in a statement. 

In order for Proton to accomplish its long term goals, the manufacturing of Proton vehicles in its export markets is extremely important. 

Proton will be focusing on expanding its locally assembly operations in the Pakistan market after the completion of the local assembly of the Proton Saga in Kenya.

“If everything goes to plan our partner in Pakistan, Al-Haj Automotive, will begin assembly operations with the Proton Saga by the end of July or early August at its new plant in Karachi. The Proton X70 will be added to their production line later, and we have high hopes this development will spur sales growth in the South Asian region,” he mentioned.

Also vital to the company’s long term goals is its sales growth in ASEAN. In regards to that, Proton plans to return to Thailand and Indonesia very soon! At this time, the company’s presence in ASEAN is only limited to Brunei. 

“For PROTON to be the third best-selling brand in ASEAN, we need to have a major presence in Thailand and Indonesia. As the biggest automotive markets in the region they offer enormous volume potential, but the level of competition is also very high. 

For both countries, we have been busy recruiting partners to build a network that ensures a viable business model and in the short term, our target is to return to Thailand in 2022,” said Xu.