Top 20 cars in May 2025 – Perodua Bezza, Axia, Myvi top 3; Toyota Vios and Honda City beat Proton S70

JPJ has released the latest vehicle registration data for May 2025, so here’s the top 20 best-selling models last month and cumulatively for the first five months of this year.

Of course, the podium belongs to Perodua. Sales phenomenon Bezza sits comfortably at the top (9,163 units in May and past the 40k mark year-to-date), the Axia is in second (7,608 units in May, 35,446 YTD) and the Myvi is in third (6,215 units in May, 29,965 YTD).

Taking a (short) break from the P2s is the Proton Saga in fourth (5,357 units, 25,790 YTD). Proton’s best-selling model is followed by the Perodua Alza (4,357 units, 18,793 YTD) and Ativa (2,901 units, 14,065 YTD). Yes, five of the top six are cars from Rawang.

The top non-national model last month was the Toyota Vios in seventh (2,688 units), which outsold both arch-rival Honda City (2,134, sedan plus hatchback) and the ‘better value’ Proton S70 (1,751). The City is ninth in the league while the S70 is one spot outside the top 10.

If we look at these three B-segment contenders in the YTD chart below, the City is just ahead of the Vios in what is set to be a neck-to-neck race to the finish – 11,232 Honda vs 11,115 Toyota. The S70, which claims to be a C-segment model but with B-segment pricing, is way down in 12th with just 7,877 units.

At launch, Proton said that it expects S70 sales to surpass the X50, but that hasn’t been the case – the X50 is 10th in May (1,893) and YTD (9,010), figures that are surprisingly good for a car that’s on the verge of being replaced by a heavy facelift. The Proton S70 – what do you think?

Elsewhere, we have a perennial top 10 model, the Toyota Hilux in eighth with 2,390 units sold last month (YTD ninth, 9,121). While this is nothing new, it’s still shocking to see that no other pick-up truck is in the top 20 – rivals may be newer; they may have better specs, more power, etc; but the Hilux is untouchable.

In the sub-RM150k non-national SUV market, the Honda HR-V is leading the mini league with 7,961 units sold until May, which is more than even the Proton S70. The recently-facelifted Corolla Cross is at 6,558 while the Jaecoo J7 found 4,739 new homes. Sitting in 18th, the latter is the only Chinese brand vehicle in the top 20, so much for China dominating the market. The news perhaps, due to the amount of brands and models being launched.

Speaking of the Jaecoo, it’s ahead of the costlier Honda CR-V (3,820 units, 20th) while the Proton X70 has disappeared from the top 20 list. There are only two MPVs in the list and they couldn’t be more different – Toyota Alphard in 13th (mostly ‘recon’) and the Mitsubishi Xpander (4,233 units, 19th). The Proton eMas 7 was the first EV to enter the monthly top 20 in April, but it failed to do so last month.