City congestion accelerates the elimination of manual cars, Proton announces the cessation of manual Saga production!

Recently, Proton, the Malaysian domestic car manufacturer, has confirmed that Proton Saga cars equipped with DIY gearboxes will cease production at the end of this year, which means that from 2025, Proton will no longer produce manual transmission cars. In response to this, Proton stated that it was due to insufficient market demand, and the economic significance of producing manual transmission cars affected Proton's production decisions.

Traffic Congestion Affects the Demand for Manual Cars

The decline of manual cars may be due to traffic congestion as the congestion in cities makes it inconvenient to use manual cars, thus pushing them out of the historical stage. According to a ranking of the degree of traffic congestion in global cities, London, the United Kingdom, is the most congested city in the world, while Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ranks 143rd. However, during peak traffic hours, the level of congestion can be imagined.

Because the speed of the vehicle is very low when stuck in traffic, the maximum speed does not exceed 10km/h, and it often stops and goes. When a manual car is moving at low speeds, the clutch needs to be in a semi-engaged state, controlling the speed of the vehicle through the clutch, otherwise, the car can easily stall or jerk, affecting the driving experience. The clutch is entirely controlled by the driver's left foot. The longer the vehicle is stuck, the longer the clutch stays in the semi-engaged state. If the congestion lasts for half an hour, the driver will be very tired.

2. Product Sequence Impact on Demand

By observing the product arrangement of the Proton Saga, you can find that manual cars are always priced at the lowest among car products, which can be positioned as low-end models. Therefore, many features are missing compared to automatic models, which indirectly leads consumers who like manual cars to give up choosing manual cars because there are no corresponding features. Therefore, if manufacturers want to improve the sales of manual cars, they can try to equip manual models with mid-to-high-end configurations, rather than merely treating them as entry-level models.

2023 Proton Saga 1.3 Standard MT: RM 34,800

2023 Proton Saga1.3 Standard AT: RM 38,800

2023 Proton Saga 1.3 Premium AT: RM 41,800

2023 Proton Saga 1.3 Premium S AT: RM 44,800