Top 20 brands in Jan 2026 – Perodua top but Proton now closer, Jetour strong in 11th, Nissan down in 18th

We’ve finished the first month of 2026, so the clock has officially been reset with regard to the road transport department‘s (JPJ) new car registration data. 1-2-3-4 are the usual Malaysian pair and Japanese pair, but where Proton’s monthly sales are usually half of Perodua’s or less, it’s now three quarters – that’s the Saga effect for you. Throughout 2025, Proton never cracked 15k a month; now it’s scored nearly 20k.

Seems to be a lukewarm start to the year generally. Toyota did 6,598 while Honda did 3,177 – both lower versus their January 2025 scores. At fifth sits Chery with 1,287 units, and at sixth, Omoda | Jaecoo with 1,230. After Mitsubishi in seventh (1,191) sits BYD in eighth (913) – the Chinese EV specialist had enjoyed five straight months of four-digit sales, thanks to the tax-free CBU EV rush.

Mazda’s at ninth (841) while Mercedes-Benz’s at 10th (677), 132 units ahead of BMW at 12th. Between the Germans is Jetour (593) – 11th is very good for a brand that typically stands in the high-teens. Zeekr also did well, its 489 units earning it 13th – we don’t remember Zeekr placing this high before in the monthly stakes.

This is the first time iCaur (14th, 451) has made the top 20; the last time MG (19th, 308) appeared was in July 2025. Nissan, usually in the 15-16s, has dropped to 18th (336), while Isuzu, normally in the 13-14s, is now 20th (261). Where has Tesla gone?