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With two more weeks to go before 2025 ends, Perodua is on course for another record year of sales. The perennial market leader’s current high of 358,102 units was set last year, an 8.4% increase over 2023’s 330,325 units, which was the previous record. The highest before that? 2022, of course.
At last weekend’s media preview session for the just-launched Traz SUV, Perodua president and CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad reiterated that the company is on track to breach the 359,000 units sales mark. which would be a new sales record. With another bumper year, Perodua is also expected to maintain its ASEAN No.2 spot. Yes, for those who are not aware, P2 is P2 in ASEAN by sales behind Toyota, having overtaken Honda in 2024.
Last year, Perodua’s market share was 43.8% of a total industry volume (TIV) of 817k units, a new record for Malaysia. This year, the Rawang carmaker estimates that its slice of the pie will be from 44% to 46% of a TIV of between 780k to 805k units. P2’s market share has been hovering above 40% for some time now, but is the needle now inching towards half?
2023-2024 Malaysia auto sales – click to enlarge
Zooming out for a broader view, the highest market share for national makes since the early 2000s is 66.9%, achieved in 2023. It was the highest level for Proton-Perodua since 2003, when the duo commanded 66% of sales.
The strong showing by the national brands is a continuation of their rise after dropping to below 50% market share from 2014 to 2018. That slump was due to Proton’s low contribution, but with Geely now at the wheel, the tide has definitely turned.
As for the market leader, they’re already at full throttle with year after year of record sales. As it is, four out of every 10 new cars sold in Malaysia are Peroduas, and sales is only limited by production capacity, not demand, as some models have waiting lists of a couple of months. P2 has been doing the heavy lifting for some time now, benefitting the local automotive ecosystem.
Could the national market share top 67% in 2025? Again, it all depends on Proton. P1’s market share has been hovering near 20% of late (18.9% in 2023 and 18.1% in 2024), and should Tanjong Malim breach that level and Perodua hit its upper estimate, we could see a new high point.
National vs non-national brands market share, 2001-2020
How was the market like the last time national makes were so dominant? Some might be too young to remember, but 2003 was a time when Proton led Perodua 37% versus 29%. However, this was the tail end of Proton’s dominance, as it was already on a steep decline – just one year ago in 2002, it was P1 49% and P2 22%, with a combined national market share of 78%.
The inevitable happened when Perodua overtook Proton to lead the market for the first time in 2005, thanks to the overwhelming success of the original Myvi.
Every time Proton launches a model, the company’s marketing department, the event’s MC and the media (including this writer, who grew up in the OG Saga) will feel nostalgic reminiscing about the good old days with past Protons, but do you realise that generations of Malaysians do not share this nostalgia? That’s because their first car was most likely a Perodua hatchback, many of them Myvis. I bet you never saw this example of a generation gap – bro, we are old!
After it wrested P1 from P1, Perodua never looked back. The Myvi went on to become ‘king’ and wave after wave of successful models followed to widen the gap, which maxed out in 2018 at 38% versus just 11% for Proton. The 2014-2018 period also saw non-national makes overtake P1-P2 for the first time ever, led by a Honda revving in its VTEC zone.
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This period of N-N dominance did not last very long. In 2017, China’s Geely stepped in to breathe life into a Proton that was in critical condition, providing new models that would boost the company’s sales and help it enter higher segments. Proton’s recovery was not at the expense of Perodua though, but the non-national players. Look at all the X70s and X50s on the road today – all those sales would’ve otherwise gone to Honda, Toyota and Mazda.
Proton has since reclaimed its No.2 spot and market share has gone from an all-time low of 11% in 2018 to the almost 20% of today. With wind in their respective sails and no imminent threat from the foreign brands, Proton (new Saga is out; volume seller is first of a range of AMA models) and Perodua (laughed at by online trolls, loved by real buyers; always has another gear to widen the gap when needed) are well-positioned to push the national makes market share to levels last seen two decades ago. If not this year, the next, if not…
We’ve dived deep into this national vs non-national trend before, tracking the ups and downs of Perodua/Proton and Toyota/Honda over the years – click on the links to read more if you’re into stats and trends. We’ll revisit this next year when the official 2025 numbers are out, and also check out the ‘China effect’ on our auto market.
