The Proton Persona, with a starting price of just RM 47,800 is the most value-for-money sedan in its (B-segment) class. Even the highest specifications RM 58,300 Premium variant is still nearly RM 30k cheaper than the Toyota Vios and Honda City.

This makes it unsurprising that for much of 2023, the Proton Persona dominated Malaysia’s B-segment sedan.

No national car-level pricing advantage, no problem for Toyota Vios and Honda City

Yet, the Toyota Vios, despite its higher starting price of RM 89,600, has surpassed the Proton Persona in the last two months.

The similarly strong Honda City is picking up pace after a temporary pause in July to transition into a new facelift model. The new 2023 Honda City now comes with Honda Sensing driving aids across the range. The move is part of Honda’s global commitment to offer the accidents-reducing on all its cars worldwide by 2030.

The City used to sell a lot less than the the much cheaper Proton Persona but in September, that gap is down to less than 30 cars, in the direction of the Persona.

The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) prevents the disclosure of monthly sales numbers at the model level, citing concerns about price fixing — a rationale that baffles many industry insiders. However, a relative ranking of the segment's top three models is permissible., thus the lack of numbers in the graph below:

Wondering about the Nissan Almera? Edaran Tan Chong Motor reported only 3,578 passenger car sales in the first half of 2023, placing the Almera far down the list.

Given the challenge of obtaining monthly model sales data, we'll skip its details.

From January to September 2023, the Proton Persona led the sales chart five times. With a cumulative sales total of 18,604 units, it’s still the overall segment leader, but the Toyota Vios (16,204 units) is hot on its trail.

The Honda City, which lost about one month of sales (July) due to the phasing in of a new facelift model, is at third place, with 14,387 units.

At the current run rate, the Persona will soon lose its leading position.​

Toyota Vios: Breaking recent sales records

In the past two months, the Toyota Vios, despite a starting price RM 4,700 higher than the Honda City, set two consecutive monthly sales records, perplexing many.

Six months ago, the Vios faced criticism over its safety credentials, specifically regarding the mandatory United Nations R95 side-impact certification.

However, after re-tests and confirmation from an independent Belgian agency Vincotte, appointed by the United Nations, witnessed by Thai road transport authorities, the Vios was cleared of all doubts.

Closer to home, our Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research’s ASEAN NCAP verified its side-impact performance, witnessed by Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), JPJ, and PDRM.

The Vios meets the minimum expectations, though ASEAN NCAP noted its performance for driver’s protection against side-impact as ‘Weak.’

To many customers, this controversy was hard to grasp. Many simply continued their usual routine, heading to Toyota showrooms seeking discounts.

Toyota is offering discounts at an unusually early stage of the Vios' model lifecyle

The main reason why the Toyota Vios, despite having a higher starting price than the Honda City, can top the sales chart is because Toyota dealers have been giving RM 5,000 discount to the Vios, thus bringing the Vios’ price down low enough to match Honda City.

This is unusual, as the Vios was just launched in March and is less than a year old. Dealers shouldn’t need additional incentives to move the cars.

Honda Malaysia has since responded with a RM 1,500 cash rebate and free Ecotint worth RM 2,200. It's not as much as Toyota, isn’t keen on a full-blown price war with Toyota, which would hurt resale values. Like for like, the Honda City holds its resale value better than a Toyota Vios and Honda customers appreciate this.

Proton S50 (or will it be called S70?) may upset the hierarchy

The Proton Persona, essentially unchanged since 2016 save for a new grille and infotainment system, is long past its prime.

Proton is aware of this, which is why Proton is gearing up to launch its latest sedan, codename SS11, a Geely Emgrand-based sedan potentially named the Proton S50 or S70.

The new Proton S50 / S70 may directly compete with the Toyota Vios and Honda City, but if priced competitively, could disrupt the market.

Four variants are rumoured, as is the 1.5-litre turbocharged mild-hybrid 3-cylinder engine shared with the Proton X90 (but detuned for the S50/S70).

The only other turbocharged B-segment sedan is the 1.0-litre Nissan Almera, which is priced from RM 83,888) and like the upcoming Proton, also has a 3-cylinder engine.

Just think of the Proton S50/S70 as a successor to the Proton Preve, offering C-segment Toyota Corolla Altis/Honda Civic-level size and refinement at B-segment Toyota Vios/Honda City prices.

Prices have yet to be confirmed but assuming that it's going to be called the Proton S70, it cannot be more expensive than a Proton X70, which starts at RM 98,800.

Likewise if it's called the Proton S50, as the Proton X50 starts at RM 86,300. All else being equal, SUVs typically command a higher price premium than sedans.

The anticipated Proton S50/S70 is expected to launch in Malaysia by the end of this year.