Proton (company)
Proton Holdings Berhad is short for
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (
Malay for National Automobile Enterprise), is
Malaysia's first car manufacturer initiated in
1983 by then-Malaysia's
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Proton is listed on the
Bursa Malaysia.
|
The old Proton logo used for domestic models. |
Based on technology and parts from
Mitsubishi, production of the first model, the
Proton Saga began in September
1985 at its first manufacturing plant in
Shah Alam,
Selangor. Initially the components of the car were entirely manufactured by Mitsubishi but slowly local parts were being used as technologies were transferred and skills were gained. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January
1989. [
1]
Until the end of the
1990s, the car's logo featured the crest from Malaysia's
coat of arms, featuring a crescent and a fourteen-pointed star. The new Proton logo features a stylized
tiger head.
|
Proton Wira/Persona 5-door model. |
In
1993, a model called
Proton Wira was introduced based on the
Mitsubishi Lancer/Colt. More than 220,000 units were sold between
1996 and
1998 [
2].
Proton Perdana based on the
Mitsubishi Eterna, was first produced in
1995, intended for higher end market.
By 2002 Proton held a market share of over 60 per cent in Malaysia, which was reduced to barely 30 percent by 2005 and is expected to reduce further in
2008 when
AFTA mandates reduce import tariffs to a maximum of 5%.
Proton Waja (
Proton Impian in UK) is the first car model designed internally by Proton. It was launched on
February 8,
2004.
With the acquisition of
Lotus technologies in 1996 from
Bugatti, Proton has gained an additional source of engineering and automotive expertise. This lead to the production of
Proton Gen-2 which was code name Wira Replacement Model (WRM) before the launch. The Gen-2 is the first of cars to be manufactured and assembled at the new manufacturing plant in
Tanjung Malim,
Perak which is part of
Proton City development project. The plant was opened in 2004. On
June 8, 2005 Proton introduced the second model to be manufactured in Tanjung Malim, the 1,200 cc 5-door supermini, the
Proton Savvy. Both the Gen-2 and Savvy, were models that
MG Rover was looking to rebadge when the British firm entered into collaboration talks with Proton. However these joint-venture talks were unsuccessful and
MG Rover subsequently collapsed.
In December 2004, Proton purchased a majority share in
MV Agusta of
Italy. MV Agusta is the manufacturer of MV Agusta,
Husqvarna, and
Cagiva motorcycles. A year later, Proton sold off its 57.7% share in MV Agusta to another Italian company for a token of one Euro. Due to heavy debt by MV Agusta, the selling enabled Proton to write off the losses off its book.
In October
2004, Proton announced that an understanding has been reached with
Volkswagen AG of Germany to establish a
strategic partnership. Under the tie-up, the two carmakers are expected to exploit each other's strengths. Proton would gain access to Volkswagen's superior technical capabilities and
technology. In return, Volkswagen may utilise Proton's spare capacity at the latter's
Tanjung Malim to assemble cars for export to the
South-East Asian market, where the German auto giant has a weak presence. Furthermore, the tie-up may see Volkswagen assist in distributing Proton vehicles in
China while Proton does the same for
Volkswagen in South-East Asia. Nonetheless, none of the parties announced detailed and concrete plans for the partnership. On January 13, 2006, Volkswagen announced that negotiation of the partnership has failed because VW's plans were different and clashes with the terms and condition that Proton offered. [
3].
Proton exports cars to the
United Kingdom and
Australia and the company is aggressively marketing its cars in several other countries including the
Middle East.
Proton began its exports with countries where (as in Malaysia) drivers use the
left side of the road like
New Zealand in the late
1980s, but its success was mostly limited to the
United Kingdom where it entered the market in
1989. There advertised with the slogan
Japanese Technology, Malaysian Style, Proton cars proved popular among budget-oriented motorists, and like
Japanese and
South Korean models before them, led to the demise of Eastern-bloc manufacturers such as
Lada and
Zastava. By the
1990s, Proton had withdrawn from the New Zealand market after offering only the Saga four-door and Persona five-door models. The Persona and Natura models were sold in
Chile briefly during the late nineties by a local
Nissan importer, but few were sold and the venture ended after two or three years.
Proton also exports cars to countries in
Southeast Asia and
Australia, and now produces models in left-hand drive (to drive on the right side of the road), for export to continental
Europe. An entry into the
US market was considered by
Malcolm Bricklin following
Hyundai's successful launch in the mid 1980s. However, exports to the US never materialised, as the cars required hundreds of changes to meet American safety standards.
It is a company that can be used as a case study for
rent seeking as tariffs on imported cars rose almost immediately following the formation of Proton. Also
AFTA agreements on relaxing entries into the
ASEAN marketspace had exemptions specifically for Proton. The Malaysian government gained a three-year exemption for Proton from 2002 to 2005 where entry tariffs had to be lowered to 5%.
In the United Kingdom, Proton cars suffer somewhat from a poor public image. Deeply unfashionable with younger drivers, they are identified as being a vehicle popular with elderly people. However, the make does command loyalty and appreciation from those who do drive it, thanks to its relatively economic fuel consumption and reliability.
*
List of Proton car models*
List of automobile manufacturers*
Lotus Cars*
Team Lotus*
Race Rally Research*
"Malaysia auto plan seen as another wake-up call to Proton".
Associated Press.
*
Company homepage*
Proton Australia homepage*
Proton UK homepage*
Zagross Khodro - Proton Iran*
Lotus Cars UK homepage*
Proton Hatchback Enthusiasts (Malaysia)*
Proton News
