Following a successful October when sales grew by 28.7% compared to the previous month, Proton has now exceeded the cumulative volume that was achieved for the same period of 10 months in 2020. With 13,362 units sold in October, the cumulative volume has reached 86,379 units, 1.6% higher than the same period in 2020 when 84,999 units were sold.

“Proton’s sales in October can be summarized as a story of strong buyer demand and unrealized sales potential. While we are happy with the continued popularity of the Proton Saga and our achievement with the two SUVs, we missed out on adding more units to our final tally as we continue ramping up our supply of components. Market demand however is expected to remain strong towards the end of year, so we are working diligently towards closing 2021 on a high note,” said Roslan Abdullah, CEO of Proton Edar.

Proton’s performance is in contrast to the overall market which has fallen by an estimated 4.7% despite selling more than 65,000 units for the first time in 2021 in October. Proton’s total sales volume in October is expected to be represent a 20.5% market share, while the cumulative volume should put the brand’s share at 22.7%.

As has been the case for every month in 2021, the Saga has been the bestseller. 5,107 units were sold in October, the third time the model’s sales volume has exceeded 5,000 units during the year. According to Proton, the Saga has been the A-segment sedan volume leader in 2021.

Two other volume leaders for the company are both the SUVs, the X50 and X70. The B-segment X50 managed achieved its best month since launch with 3,839 units sold, while the larger X70 had its best month of sales since March this year with 2,165 units sold.

As for the rest of the model range, the evergreen Exora continued to dominate the C-segment MPV market with 359 units sold. However, the latest Iriz and Persona were badly affected by microchip shortages that limited their production volumes and delaying deliveries.

Proton, like other companies, is happy that the government has made the decision to extend the exemption of Sales and Service Tax (SST) another 6 months until June 30, 2022. This benefits both the car companies which are still recovering and need every sale they can get, as well as car-buyers who can save money.

“Customers who have been patiently waiting for their vehicles no longer need to worry about missing out on the incentives if their deliveries can only be made next year. The extension gives us a chance to fulfil the bookings we have already received and doesn’t unfairly penalize customers who are waiting due to circumstances beyond their control,” said Encik Roslan. “We predict the extension will also help to spur sales through the first half of next year when there could be more new models introduced to the market.”

Proton launches new range of Genuine Oils

Toyota has made many sportscars over the years and some of them have become legendary and are still sought after decades after production ceased. One of them is the model that was in the fifth generation of the Corolla family in the 1980s. It had the model code of ‘AE86’ and in the Japanese market, it was known as Levin or Trueno (the name used for the Sprinter sister version) and as Corolla GT in most export markets. Today, it is also referred to as ‘hachi-roku’ which is Japanese for ‘86’.

Because of the many units of AE86 still in use around the world, replacement parts are still circulating, mostly by aftermarket suppliers. Now TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) has made the decision to include the model in its GR Heritage Parts Project which reproduces spare parts that have been discontinued and sells them as genuine parts.

Fifth model for heritage parts project
TGR has already been reproducing spare parts for the A70 and A80 Supra, the 2000GT, and the 40-Series Land Cruiser. Now owners of the AE86 will be able to get parts which would have the same high quality and durability as genuine parts.

Of course, unlike when the car was still in production, the reproduced parts will not be the entire list of thousands of parts. From market studies, TGR has identified parts which are in demand and for now, it will offer rear brake calipers, steering knuckle arms and rear driveshafts (from December).

Limited production run
The production run for the parts will be limited so they will be available until stocks run out. The parts will be sold by authorized Toyota dealers in various countries in the same way as normal genuine parts.

The AE86 has been amazingly enduring, with well maintained units that are over 30 years old able to have values similar or even higher (if they have performance parts added) than what the original customers paid for them in the 1980s. Even the engineers of the team that developed the model were surprised by how the car is still in demand by enthusiasts. When they developed it, the AE86 was just another variant of the world’s most bestselling car.

One of the first models to used 4A-GE
It was one of the first models to use the 4A-GE LASRE (Lightweight Advanced Super Response Engine), a 1600 cc DOHC all-aluminium 16-valve engine with 4 valves per cylinder (later versions had 5 valves per cylinder). The engine, which was developed in collaboration with Yamaha (which had also helped Toyota develop earlier high-performance engines) had a high output of 130 bhp. But it was the handling of the car that made it popular, especially among those who used it for drifting.

In Malaysia, UMW Toyota Motor imported a small number for sale (at prices under RM50,000!) as well as for use by its rally team in the 1980s, where it won many events. It was something of a ‘giant killer’, able to take on more powerful cars like the Nissan 240RS, although that was also largely due to having skilled drivers like Y.S. Khong behind the wheel. In later years, many used units would be brought in and readily sold.

AE86 reborn
The AE86 was reborn in the modern Toyota 86 model in 2012, adopting new technologies but also inherited the culture and tradition of the ‘hachi-roku’. This has been followed by the GR86 which went on sale last month in Japan.