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Kuala Lumpur: National carmaker Proton has signed an agreement to appoint CMH Group as the distributor of Proton vehicles in South Africa, which will see the first shipment of fully imported (CBU) models go on sale in September.

The company said the Proton X50 and Proton X70 models will lead sales there, followed by the Proton Saga, which is making a return to the nation 10 years after its sales ended in 2012.

“Proton is bullish about its sales prospects in South Africa, projecting strong sales this year, and targeting to more than double its volume in 2023. For the first quarter of this year, total export sales have increased by 175 per cent over the same period from 2021,” it said in a statement. “That number is expected to increase as the company takes aim at growing export sales by more than 300 per cent by the end of the year.” For 2022, the company’s international sales department is targeting to grow export sales exponentially and is targeting 10,000 units, by not only entering new markets but also growing assembly, or knocked down (KD), operations overseas.

Proton director for international sales Steven Xu said the company’s long term goals require exports to play a major role in order to grow the company’s overall sales as the total industry volume (TIV) in Malaysia is expected to remain flat.

“So, we are exploiting the strength of our new products, our brand, and even the links Malaysia has with other countries to establish a foothold in many new markets. This is then bolstered by establishing KD operations where possible, which also helps to grow local economies,” he said.