Proton Eyes 200,000 Units Sales For 2026, No 1 Status By 2029

Proton CEO Dr Li Chunrong laid some of renewed targets for the national automaker last night during its annual press Chinese New Year dinner.

Last night, national automaker Proton held its annual Chinese New Year dinner with local press. During which, CEO Dr Li Chunrong seized the initiative to lay out some of the automaker’s immediate, medium- and long-term goals.

Firstly, Dr Li put forth the new goal for P1 to achieve a total sale of 200,000 units for this year (2026) – excluding overseas exports. Said figure marks a 26% increase from the 157,976 units Proton shifted in total throughout last year (2025). As a refresher, said total achieved last year encompasses both domestic sales and overseas exports combined.

Secondary goals alongside the main aim of achieving 200,000 units sales for 2026 include making the new Saga and the e.MAS EV marque as Malaysia's No 1 best-seller and EV marque respectively.

To achieve this, Proton also set out a few secondary goals to complement which. It includes making the latest fourth-gen Saga model as Malaysia’s No 1 best-seller, for the Proton e.MAS marque to be Malaysia’s No 1 electric vehicle (EV) brand, for the upcoming e.MAS 7 PHEV to be the No 1 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) offering in Malaysia too.

Altogether, these immediate goals form a roadmap set out by Dr Li for Proton to achieve a total sale of 227,000 units by 2027. Said number is significant – historically, that was P1’s highest ever total sales it achieved throughout its existence. With all this mind, Proton seeks to become Malaysia’s No 1 carmaker in terms of sales by 2029.

P1 also reiterated its aim of having electrified models (EVs and hybrids) account for at least 30% of total sales, along with another 30% stemming from exports across 30 countries, all by 2030.

In his address, Dr Li again reiterated the “30+30+30 by 2030” plan Proton laid out back in Jan 2025. Said plan calls for 30% of sales to be fuelled by electrified models (hybrids and EVs), followed by another 30% stemming from overseas exports to 30 export markets. Aptly, Proton aims to have done all this by 2030 as well.

Yes, these are certainly lofty numbers being touted by P1. Let’s not forget that to achieve this, the Tanjong Malim-rooted automaker will also have to strive towards toppling Rawang-based archrivals Perodua – currently the undisputed No 1 automaker in Malaysia, and ASEAN’s No 2.

Nevertheless, Dr Li appears confident in steering Proton towards these targets along with recently instated Deputy CEO Datuk Abdul Rashid Musa. We’ll also add that the automaker’s vision is bolstered by recent milestones it charted throughout 2025 – new products plus AHTV initiative included.

Dr Li also confirmed both the S70 sedan (top, left) and X90 three-row SUV (top, right) will be updated this year, likely with a switch to the new i-GT 4-cyl mill as the X50 and X70 (above).

Speaking of products, the presentation slides Dr Li put forth did also confirm a few things we’ve long suspected. Apart from the introduction of the Proton e.MAS 7 PHEV next month, updated iterations of both the S70 C-segment sedan and X90 three-row D-segment SUV models were also confirmed for launch this year - both likely pakcing new 4-cyl hearts shared with the X50 and X70.

Apart from which, Dr Li also teased upcoming new model offshoots based on the fourth-gen Saga model’s AMA platform base. He didn’t divulge details like the planned model types and launch timelines of each. Instead, he elected to confirm at least three models were planned, all underpinning said platform.