Proton Holdings Berhad exported a total of 1,635 cars worth RM55.1 million between June 2018 and August 2019, said International Trade and Industry Minister Darrell Leiking.

This is equivalent to an average of 109 cars being sent for sale in overseas markets every month.

The cars, namely Gen 2, Preve and Persona were mainly exported to seven countries, he told Alexander Nanta Linggi (GPS-Kapit) in a parliamentary written reply yesterday.

"The main export markets are Brunei, Mauritius, Jordan, Pakistan, Iraq, Zimbabwe and Egypt," he said.

In January, Proton Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Li Chunrong reportedly said the company planned to increase its exports to between 4,000 and 5,000 units in 2019.

He noted that Proton had exported 1,388 cars overseas in 2018, as compared to only 248 cars in 2017.

Li (below) had also previously stated that Proton aimed to emerge as one of the top three players in the Asean market in 2027 by producing 400,000 cars annually.

In yesterday's reply, Darrell said the sales of Proton cars had increased 36 percent to 61,235 units as of August this year as compared with the same period last year.

"Based on the report of the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), Proton is the second-biggest player in the passenger vehicle segment between January and August," he said.

"The sales increase was driven by the introduction of X70 in 2018 and the facelift of existing car models, including Saga, Exora, Iriz and Persona, in 2019," he said.