After three consecutive months of posting record numbers in 2018, car sales in Malaysia shrank for September as the new Sales Service Tax (SST) came into force. PROTON was no exception as a 36 month high of 9,501 units was followed up by sales of 4,524 units. However, although there was a drop in overall unit sales, market share as a percentage of the Total Industry Volume (TIV) increased to 15%, a new high point for the year and the highest share percentage since May 2017.
Market share shows upward trend
The overall increase in market share points toward PROTON sales continuing to gain ground in September on its main rivals. Actual percentage figures will be confirmed after official numbers are announced by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) but from a historical context, the results are very good.
Year on year sales grew by 1% and market share by 4% over 2017, an excellent result considering the month is traditionally a slow one. Further analysis points to the growth in market share as part of an overall trend for PROTON from the beginning of 2018 with a significant increase in August (14.5%) that has been carried over to September.
