As this blue and green third rock from the sun completes its orbit around the pulsating red giant heat sphere, another year passes. 2023 could also see another record-breaking year of automotive sales in Malaysia. Still, as we get accustomed to writing 2024 (or 2023A for the superstitious) on our calendar dates, we also would like to remember the key models that did not make it. Bar certain variants that have been discontinued like the Mazda 3 1.5-litre variants and the Volkswagen Golf R-Line, w
Jan 3, 2024
National carmaker Proton closed 2023 by posting its best sales performance since 2012, achieving a fifth consecutive year of sales growth. In December, 12,711 units were sold, bringing the year-end total to 154,611 units (domestic + export), a 9.3% increase over the 2022 sales of 141,432 units. Proton's overall market share is calculated at 19.4%, and it ended the year ranked second in overall sales, maintaining this position for the fifth consecutive year. Strong market demand for the Persona,
Jan 3, 2024
Unlike our neighbours Indonesia, Malaysians largely only accepted MPVs around the mid-2000s. When Proton launched the country’s first homegrown MPV, the Proton Exora in 2009, the MPV sales boom was at its peak. 14 years later, most of the MPVs introduced during that period were discontinued (Nissan Grand Livina), entered the next generation (Perodua Alza), or grew into a crossover (Toyota Innova Zenix). Yet, the Proton Exora remained in continuous demand but its chapter has closed with productio
Nov 6, 2023
July 2023 is another good month for Proton as it saw 13,326 units sold domestically and internationally, a 16.1% improvement over the same month in 2022 (11,477 units). Cumulatively, Proton sold 90,647 units in 2023 so far which is also the earliest P1 has exceeded the 90k-unit barrier since 2012. Even though the Proton X90 has only been on sale for less than 3 months, the third addition to Proton’s SUV range has taken the overall sales lead in the D-segment SUV market. With 886 units sold in Ju
Aug 3, 2023
After a 14-year model lifespan, 2023 may be end of the road for the longstanding Proton Exora. Though not officially confirmed by Proton, all signs point to the Proton’s only MPV being discontinued at the end of this year. Speaking at a press forum today, Mr Ainol Azmil Abu Bakar, Senior Director of Group Technical Procurement for Proton said, “Of the four original models (from Proton), [three] will still continue except for one model that we have announced to suppliers that we are going to EOP
Jul 17, 2023
Proton has entered a strategic partnership with CARSOME to offer customers a seamless solution to trade-in their old cars. Besides CARSOME, two other online bidding companies are also on-board with Proton. Proton says the partnership with CARSOME will provide customers with a range of benefits, including enhanced convenience, trustworthiness, competitive trade-in values, transparency in pricing, secure payment and ownership transfer, daily auctions, faster disposal, and comprehensive inspections
Jul 7, 2023
Let’s get one thing clear about vehicle ownership. Buying a car and maintaining a car are two very different aspects of the proprietorship experience… and the latter is something plenty of us are guilty of not factoring into the equation which can then become an expensive sum. Firstly, just because you can afford to, doesn’t mean you have to buy the most expensive car you can afford on your salary or budget… lambang ‘H’ be damned. Secondly, pricier cars usually mean pricier maintenance as well.
May 12, 2023
The Proton Exora is the oldest new car model that is still on sale in Malaysia. It was first launched in 2009 but despite being nearly 15 years old, Proton has no successor planned for its sole MPV model. When Geely took a 49.9 percent stake in Proton in 2017, the Geely Jiaji (VF11) was listed as among the three models that Proton has secured intellectual property rights to. The other two were the Geely Boyue (Proton X70) and Geely Binyue (SX11, which we know as the Proton X50). Proton is now in
Mar 30, 2023
National carmaker Proton continued its strong start to the year by selling 52% more vehicles in February compared to the same month last year. With 14,033 units (domestic and export) sold last month, sales volume was 20.1% higher than January while for the first two months of the year, year-to-date (YTD) volume has swelled by 88% to 25,714 units. The company’s market share for the month is estimated to be 22.7%, placing it second in the rankings, and representing a 7.3% increase over February 20
Mar 3, 2023
Strong performance in DRB-HICOM’s automotive division has pushed the conglomerate back into black. It ended its financial year ending 31-December 2022 with RM409.99 million profit before tax, reversing the previous financial year’s pre-tax loss of RM291.27 million. However it also registered a pre-tax loss of RM73.13 million for Q4 2022, but the group says this is mainly due to year-end assessment’s impairment loss of assets. The automotive division is the group’s crown jewel, leading revenue gr
Feb 22, 2023
Honda HR-V
Perodua Alza
Honda City
Honda City Hatchback
Toyota Yaris