Proton is making the country proud by making waves in other ASEAN countries
As national car maker Proton’s domestic sales performance exceeded 150,000 units in 2023, its best performance since 2012, the company also reset expectations in some export countries. One of its earliest international markets, Brunei Darussalam, showed exceptional growth last year, setting a new sales record for the company.
A year after selling 422 units in 2022, sales grew by 87 percent in 2023 when 789 units of Proton vehicles were sold in Brunei in 2023. The exceptional performance pushed the brand up to fifth overall in the sales table and garnered it a market share of 5.4 percent, up one spot and an increase of 2.2 percent over the previous year.
Moreover, the Total-Industry-Volume (TIV) for the country closed at 14,640 units for 2023, up from 13,000 units for 2022. The Proton X50 SUV finished third for B-segment SUV sales and the model has been the best-selling X-series model for the brand since its introduction in October 2020.
So far, over 100,000 units have rolled off the assembly line at Proton’s state-of-the-art factory in Tanjong Malim, which is a testament to its popularity with customers both in Malaysia and overseas. Therefore, it comes as no surprise the B-segment SUV leads sales for all the brand’s models in Brunei.
476 units of the Proton X50 were sold there in 2023, making up approximately 60 percent of total sales and driving the model up to third overall in its market segment. As a result of the promotional and branding efforts, other Proton models were also ranked in the top-10 of their respective segments in 2023.
On top of that, the Proton Persona and Iriz for instance were ranked sixth and eight for B-segment cars while the X90 SUV was ranked seventh for D-segment SUV’s despite having been on sale for less than half a year. Using the success from 2023 as a platform, both the carmaker and PAD Motors are confident in achieving more than 1,000 units for Brunei in 2024.
Key to achieving the goal is the introduction of the all-new Proton S70, which is set to occur before the end of February in the neighbouring country. The country is the first international market to receive the model and 15 units were shipped there last month ahead of its official launch.
So what do you guys think? Are you excited to see what else Proton can achieve overseas?
