Malaysian brand Proton’s future in South Africa looks decidedly uncertain, with its official distributor saying the operation has been “challenging and costly”…
After a decade-long hiatus, Proton returned to South Africa in September 2022, but the Malaysian brand’s future in the local market already appears uncertain.
As a reminder, Proton is distributed locally by the Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) Group. In its recently released integrated annual report for 2025, the CMH Group admitted its Proton import and distribution operation had “continued to be challenging and costly”.
“Current inventory will be sold during the first half of the coming [financial] year, and thereafter the Group and the Malaysian manufacturer will decide on the way forward,” CMH Group CEO Jebb McIntosh added in the report.
In the firm’s corresponding financial results presentation for 2025, the CMH Group said there was “low inventory remaining”, adding that all Proton stock “will be sold by end August [2025]”. The distributor claimed that though the product was “well received” by local consumers (with “low” warranty claims), pricing was “problematic”.
Globally, Proton falls under Chinese automotive giant Geely, with the latter owning a 49.9% stake in the Malaysian marque. Interestingly, Geely is expected to make its return to the South African market before the end of 2025, though it’s not yet clear whether the Chinese company will appoint a local distributor or set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Mzansi.
Proton’s range in South Africa currently comprises the Saga sedan along with the X50, X70 and X90 crossovers. Pricing starts at R209 900 for the base version of the Saga and runs through to R639 900 for the top-spec “Premium X” derivative in the X70 line-up. According to its website, Proton has 17 dealerships in SA.
Ahead of its return to the local market in 2022, Proton said it was “bullish about its sales prospects in South Africa”, adding that it was “projecting strong sales this year [2022], and targeting to more than double its volume in 2023”.
The automaker started reporting individual model sales figures to Naamsa in July 2023. In 2024, Proton sold just 888 units in SA, translating to a monthly average of 74 units. A further 226 units were registered in the opening 4 months of 2025, seeing average registrations per month fall to approximately 56 units.
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