Proton year-to-date August 2021 sales at 62,637 units, up 1.6% – production and exports have resumed

Proton has released sales figures for August 2021, except that it has not. Well, the company announced sales numbers for “June to August 2021”.

So, in those three months, Proton sold 5,354 units, a combination of local registrations and exports. Bear in mind that Proton typically includes export units into its sales announcements, so the figures might not tally with Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) data. Year-to-date sales is at 62,637 units, an increase of 1.6% over the same period in 2020.

We know that July 2021 was a relatively good month for Proton – check out this collector’s item of a sales chart, where the Tanjung Malim outfit borrowed Perodua’s customary top spot for a month. With no stock and no production, P2 was down in fourth, while Mitsubishi was in third behind Toyota. Never again.

Those days are over now, thankfully, as car factories and showrooms are now open again. Proton says that limited production happened at the company’s plant in Tanjung Malim after Perak was declared a Phase 2 state on July 5. Limited because of a shortage of parts from vendors located in Selangor, a Phase 1 state.

“Our total sales volume up to August reflects Proton’s strong performance over the first five months of the year. 2021 has been challenging for the automotive industry as lockdowns, chip shortages and a number of other issues have stunted sales growth, but we are confident of an industry-wide surge in numbers over the final four months of the year,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar.

One of the keys to the company being able to reopen its factories and outlets has been the success of its PIKAS vaccination plan. Currently, over 93% of Proton staff are fully vaccinated, while over 75% of employees at vendors and dealers have received two jabs. Therefore, the entire Proton ecosystem is close to being allowed to operate at 100% capacity based on the current SOPs.

With production at both its plants now restored, Proton has been able to resume export activities. Pakistan will receive three shipments of the X70 (about 108 units) in September along with CKD packs of the Saga ahead of its roll-out there, which is now estimated to take place at the end of October.

“Aside from Malaysian market customers, Proton’s export markets have also benefitted from the resumption of production activities. It’s still too early to tell how quickly we can fulfil our outstanding orders, but we are closing the gap every day,” Roslan said, adding that the company is aiming to finish 2021 strongly.

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