You probably have been contemplating a brand new instance of the present Proton Saga with a guide transmission, greatest get your order in fast as manufacturing of the nationwide carmaker’s sedan with the DIY gearbox choice will come to an in depth by the top of this yr, Proton has confirmed. Restricted items are nonetheless out there, although you’ll seemingly must enquire with a number of dealerships to learn about inventory allocation.
Regardless of the Saga having fun with its strongest gross sales numbers within the final decade since 2013 (when the low-cost SV was launched), with almost 50,000 items delivered as of the top of August this yr, or a 6.7% achieve over the identical interval final yr, demand for the guide transmission-equipped Saga has been very low.
This growth is a major one, as it could imply that Proton will not produce a mannequin with a guide transmission from 2025 onwards. Followers of the inexpensive, guide transmission automobile will lament this, however the writing has the truth is lengthy been on the wall for the three-pedal, common passenger automotive.
Inside Proton’s personal product line, current fashions that provided the selection of a guide transmission included the Persona and Iriz, although the manuals for these had been dropped when their respective facelift fashions emerged in August 2021 for the 2022 mannequin yr.
Our man, Hafriz Shah reached out to Proton in 2020 concerning demand for its guide transmission-equipped automobiles, and the nationwide carmaker stated that in 2019, simply 5 % of all Sagas, three % of Irizes and two % of Personas bought had been outfitted with a guide gearbox, or fewer than 2,700 items – or lower than 4 % – comprised the over-67,000 items of the three fashions mixed in that point.
Briefly, the dearth of demand, and due to this fact financial sense for persevering with manufacturing of automobiles with a guide transmission impacts even Proton, and never for lack of making an attempt on the producer’s half. When the Iriz was launched precisely 10 years in the past in the present day in 2014, Proton provided its B-segment hatchback with the guide gearbox throughout all trim ranges and each 1.3L and 1.6L engine variants.
Weak demand for the guide transmission on this space of the market additionally applies to Perodua, which had already discontinued the MT for Myvi and Axia, save for the base variant Axia E that’s primarily based on the previous-generation automotive.
Due to this fact, cash talks, or extra particularly, the place clients select to place theirs, and so it seems the guide transmission-equipped household automotive is an more and more uncommon place for the automotive purchaser to take action. For those who’ve been on the fence with deciding upon a brand new, guide transmission Proton, maybe the shut of manufacturing for the MT-equipped Saga may tip the steadiness.
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