SUBANG JAYA: Proton announced today it has achieved an 18.1% market share in June, its best since July 2015

This was despite estimated total industry volume shrinking by 30.8% to 42,090 units.

The local carmaker said it was normal for local sales to trend lower immediately after a festive period.

For June, it was no exception as the highs prior to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holiday were followed by a tough sales environment.

In contrast, June 2018 was different as it was the first month of the post-GST tax holiday period making it challenging for most automotive brands to post positive year-on-year sales growth numbers.

However, the company's sales grew by 23% compared to June last year, placing it second for the third consecutive month in the national car segment, helping to contribute a sales growth of 61% for the first six months of the year.

On the X70 mid-sized SUV, Proton has delivered 15,175 units for the first half of the year, making it the sales leader overall for the SUV segment.

The company said sales of its Saga continue to grow with 2,541 units delivered in June, contributing to volume growth of 27% over the first six months of 2018.

The rest of the models that have recently received been updated are reported to be performing well. Bookings for the Persona, Iriz and Exora increased by an average of 108%, 180% and 135% respectively when compared to their pre-update booking numbers.

"Our year to date market share currently stands at 14.7% and is a big improvement of our 2018 figure of 10.8%," said Proton chief executive officer Dr Li Chunrong.

"For the second half of the year, we will concentrate on continuing to build our sales and exciting the market further by introducing new and updated models as was promised at the beginning of the year.”

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