Well, sales are growing for PROTON in South Africa as they export 1,000 more units.
The launch of the PROTON brand into South Africa and the launch of the PROTON X50 and PROTON X70 only happened on the 14th of September 2022. Recently they released news that an additional 1,000 units of PROTON’s are headed to South Africa and there were many negative comments about this ‘small figure’.
Let us explain further, unlike the rest of the media who just cut and paste the PROTON news release.
Since its arrival in South Africa, PROTON has seen a slow but effective rise in sales and an expansion of sales outlets.
Meanwhile, if you were to google ‘PROTON South Africa’ you will see dozens links to very positive news about PROTON’s arrival and also test drive reviews of the X50 and X70.
Now, in case you did not know, South Africa is a large car market and they are as progressive as Malaysia, maybe even more. There are numerous car factories producing high end vehicles for domestic buyers as well as export to even Malaysia.
Interestingly, there are German brand cars built in South Africa and sold in Malaysia.
Then there is the competition. Yes, some Chinese car manufacturers have set up business and have been slowly growing their presence in South Africa (SA) and the same brands are now in Malaysia or will very start selling very soon in Malaysia.
The Chinese car brands we are talking about are Chery and Haval. In just a few years from its arrival, only a handful can match what Chery SA has achieved in such a short time. Between January and October 2022, Chery SA sold 10,000 plus cars locally.
Chery arrived in SA just November 2021 with the Tiggo 4 Pro SUV before releasing additional models such as the larger Tiggo 7 Pro and seven-seater Chery Tiggo 8 Pro. The same models destined for Malaysia in 2023.
Then recently, Great Wall Motors with its Haval auto brand officially announced that the brand sold nearly 20,000 vehicles in the South African market in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 106 percent and a record high. Their success came from the Haval H6 and the Haval Jolion.
According to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa), in 2019, Haval had only sold 872 cars, while Chery only sold a handful.
Fast-forward to 2022, both brands are out-selling many SA established car brands such as Ford, Kia, Volkswagen and even BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Naamsa’s new vehicle sales report for October 2022 shows that Chery sold 1,229 units and Haval sold 2,602 units. Whereas BMW sold just 946 units and Mercedes-Benz sold only 737 units.
Now, to date, PROTON has shipped 1,000 units of PROTON vehicles to South Africa to meet the strong demand in the market. South African car buyers have been keen on the Proton X50 and Proton X70 with their value to compete with the Chinese brands.
The Proton X50 is roughly the size of a Hyundai Kona and will is price about between R449,900 (RM117,000) and R579,900 (RM150,000), while the X70 SUV, which is about the same size as the Haval Jolian and Chery Tiggo Pro, will set you back between R529,900 (RM137,000) and R639,900 (RM166,000).
So, this is why it is big news for PROTON to say they have shipped an additional 1,000 units to South Africa to meet increased demand.
