Many car brands in South Africa have come and gone over the years, and it looks like Malaysian badge Proton will be the next to do so.
The history of the brand began in 1979, when the then Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had a vision for Malaysia to have its own national vehicle.
In 1983, this became a reality when Proton Cars was established, and in 1985, it released the country’s first car, the Proton Saga.
The brand quickly became a popular choice in its home market, controlling more than 60% of its domestic market share in the late 1980s.
Further growth meant the Saga sold in several international markets, and by the time it debuted in the UK, it was named the “Fastest-selling make of new car ever to enter the United Kingdom”.
In the 2000s, its global expansion continued, and by 2017, Proton had sold a 49.9% stake to Chinese auto giant Geely.
In South Africa, import and distribution of the Malaysian badge has been the responsibility of the Combined Motor Holdings (CMH) group since 2022.
The timing of the brand’s introduction ultimately led to its downfall, as the product launch coincided with a sharp depreciation of the rand, placing immediate pressure on pricing.
By 2024, CMH reported that the Proton range was not selling in the volumes originally anticipated, despite being widely praised by customers.
Last year, executive management described the Proton operation as “challenging and costly”, and the group shifted focus to selling off current inventory to stem its prior-year losses.
In the financial report for the year ending February 2026, CMH officially announced that the Proton import and distribution operation will be terminated once the remaining inventory is sold.
According to Automotive Business Council (Naamsa) sales statistics, a solitary Proton was sold locally last month, the same as a month earlier.
TopAuto reached out to CMH to find out how many Proton vehicles remain in its stock and how long it will take to sell them.
The group said an answer cannot be provided, as Chinese representatives could take over local distribution.
There is hope for Proton’s cars in South Africa
To protect current buyers, CMH confirmed that it will continue to support Proton customers with workshop, servicing, and parts facilities through its retail outlets until the local Geely operations are ready to take over the brand.
Since starting the year with muted sales, Proton has not really taken off in 2026. It started the year with five vehicles sold, before peaking with 14 models sold in May.
However, sales have fallen off, with the Malaysian brand shipping a single unit in June, repeating the same performance in July.
That being said, under the ownership agreement between the Malaysian and Chinese carmakers, they frequently sell rebadged versions of each other’s cars, which means Proton’s cars may live on through Geely in South Africa.
The latest example of this is the Geely Coolray, which on the surface appears to be a rebadged Proton X50, when in reality, it is the Proton that is a rebadge of Geely’s Binyue.
Once Geely takes over Proton’s operations and distribution in South Africa, they very well may continue to bring in Proton-badged models.
However, it is likely that Geely will rather introduce its own models in the local market, given its much stronger performance.
While the Chinese brand is yet to report its sales figures to Naamsa, it reportedly sold its entire initial allocation of 240 E2 units in under a month.
By the end of June 2026, Geely had also recorded 1,200 orders of the budget EV, with many customers taking delivery of their vehicles last month, and others still on the waiting list.
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