KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 10): Proton Holdings Bhd said it sold 15,228 vehicles in August 2025,  its highest monthly sales volume in three years, driven by strong demand for its internal combustion engine (ICE) models.

The August tally pushed the national carmaker’s year-to-date sales to 100,902 units, cementing its position as the second-largest player in the domestic automotive market, said Proton in a statement on Tuesday.

Proton’s market share for August is estimated at 20.6%, up 1.3 percentage points from July, bringing its market share so far this year to 19.5%. This comes as the total industry volume was estimated at 73,890 units in August, the highest so far this year.

“August was a monumental month for Proton. We achieved our best monthly sales performance in three years and crossed the six-figure sales mark for 2025, and this is a testament to our sustained market momentum,” Proton Edar deputy chief executive officer Zhang Qiang said in the statement.

“With more new models in the pipeline, we are confident of maintaining our performance level and end the year with more high sales achievements over the coming months,” Zhang added.

Proton noted that three of its ICE models — Proton X50, Proton S70 and Proton X90 — continued to lead their respective market segments in August.  

The company has delivered over 5,000 units of X50 to customers — 4,287 units in August and 999 units in July —  just 38 days after the model’s official launch, said Proton.

The X90 sold 220 units in August while the S70 sold 1,210 units during the same month.

As for the Saga, 6,331 units were sold in August and brought its year-to-date total to 44,676 units, making it the best-selling car model. Meanwhile, X70 added 627 units to boost its total sales so far this year to 5,598 units.

Elsewhere, Persona added 1,379 units to its sales in August, while Iriz sold 305 units.

Apart from its ICE cars, the brand’s electric vehicle (EV) model Proton e.Mas 7 saw 852 units sold in August, bringing the model’s year-to-date sales to 5,811 units, reinforcing its position as the best-selling EV in Malaysia.

With the impending launch of the e.MAS 5 and the recent launch of Proton’s new EV plant in Tanjong Malim, the company is hopeful that locally assembled models will help boost the popularity of its EV models.

Proton said its export sales volume is now 49% ahead of the previous year, with 586 units sold to various international markets in August, bringing total year-to-date export volume to 3,144 units.

“Volume drivers were the Proton X50 followed by the Proton Saga and Proton e.MAS 7 with the latter expected to gain more year-end sales with its official introduction in Singapore due to occur on Sept 17, the company added.