Proton cars sales volume in Malaysia from 2014-2023

In 2023, the sales volume of Proton cars amounted to approximately 154,000 units, indicating an increase compared to the previous years. Despite the difficult situation in the past few years due to COVID-19, the sales of Proton continued to increase.

The rise of the Malaysian automotive industry

Beginning in the sixties and seventies, the Malaysian government started to push ahead with building its own automotive industry. This movement led to the first national car project, in which Proton was founded as a joint venture between HICOM, Mitsubishi Motor Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation. Proton, and later the second Malaysian brand Perodua, benefited greatly from government subsidies as well as high import taxes on other automotive vehicles. Those governmental actions enabled the Malaysian automotive manufacturers to offer their vehicles at 30 percent cheaper than comparable ones of their competitors. On the other hand, it led to a lack of technological development of their cars.

Proton today

Today, most of the import taxes have been reduced as part of the trade liberalization. Therefore, Proton must compete against international brands. While Perodua exports their cars under the name of Daihatsu, as well as benefits from a know-how exchange with the Japanese company, Proton relies on focusing on the domestic market, making it the second largest car brand in Malaysia. A survey conducted by YouGov even revealed Proton was seen as the most valued car brand by 15 percent of the Malaysian respondents. Its flagship Saga model was Proton’s best-selling car model. In 2022, Proton was able to improve their sales volume even further.