Malaysia car sales in September 2026 – Proton Saga back on top for the third time this year

Proton is having its strongest year in more than a decade. According to the road transport department (JPJ) registration data, the national carmaker accounted for 23.9% of all new vehicles registered in Malaysia from January to September 2026. That is its highest share of the market since 2011 (26.2%), and up from 17.9% in the same period last year.

Proton has registered 153,318 vehicles so far this year, 39.2% more than the 110,150 it managed from January to September 2025. That is already more than it registered in any full year since 2011, and its best first nine months since 2002. It needs fewer than 18,000 more units, about a month’s worth of sales at its current pace, to pass the 171,110 it registered in 2005, which would make 2026 its best year since 2002.

Together, Proton and Perodua took 62.5% of the market in the first nine months, the highest combined share for the two national brands since 2003. The gain is all Proton’s, though. Perodua is still by far the country’s biggest brand with 247,397 registrations so far, but that is 3.0% fewer than a year ago, and its share has slipped from 41.5% to 38.6%.

In September alone, Perodua registered 27,838 vehicles to Proton’s 18,149, or 1.53 Peroduas for every Proton. In January, when Proton took 29.0% of the market, its best share of any month this year, that ratio was 1.32.

Proton’s growth has come mostly from new models and one old favourite. The Proton e.MAS 5 , launched at the end of October 2025 , has added 20,327 registrations on its own, and the Proton e.MAS 7 PHEV , launched in February , another 6,247. The Proton S70 is up 7,856 units (61%). Among Proton’s existing models, the biggest gain is the Proton Saga , which has climbed to 68,038 registrations since the MC3 facelift went on sale in November , 18,784 (38%) more than a year ago.

Some of the losses were expected. Production of the Proton Iriz ended in September 2025 , and the Proton Persona has been discontinued too, with the new S70 NA, launched in September , taking its place. Between them, the two models have lost 8,656 registrations compared with last year, as their remaining stock runs out. The Proton X70 and the all-electric Proton e.MAS 7 are also down on last year.

On the Perodua side, the new Perodua Traz , launched in December 2025 , has added 15,800 registrations. But the Perodua Myvi (down 8,108), Perodua Ativa (down 7,502), Perodua Alza (down 3,832), Perodua Aruz (down 3,755) and Perodua Axia (down 2,024) have all fallen, more than cancelling out the newcomer. The Perodua Bezza is the only existing Perodua model that is up on last year, by 1,264 units.

The race for the best-selling model is much closer. The Saga beat the Bezza in September (8,671 to 7,779), its third monthly win of the year after January and May, while the Bezza has topped the other six months. Year to date, the Bezza leads 73,476 to 68,038, a gap of 5,438 units that the Saga has narrowed from 6,330 at the end of August.

Want to dig deeper? Our car sales data tool lets you explore and analyse Malaysian new-vehicle registrations in detail, from monthly and yearly trends for every make and model to rankings by brand, body type and fuel, plus dedicated views for the EV market and the national carmakers, all built on the same JPJ data behind this story and updated every month.

The post Proton’s market share hits its highest since 2011 – 23.9% of all new vehicles to September 2026 appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News .