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Proton (company)
Encyclopedia
Proton is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer headquartered in Subang Jaya
and Shah Alam
, Selangor
, Malaysia, with a manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim
, Perak
. Founded in 1983, it was Malaysia's only carmaker until the establishment of its competitor and arch-rival, Perodua
, in 1993. Its name is a Malay
acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (National Automobile Enterprise).
It is a core member of Proton Holdings Berhad
, the holding company which is listed on Bursa Malaysia
. Majority of its equity is owned by a government-owned company Khazanah Nasional Berhad
, making it government-linked company (GLC). For more than 2 decades since its establishment, this stake was jointly owned by Mitsubishi Motors and parent Mitsubishi Corp. which each held a 7.93% stake in Proton until they sold it in March 2004. Mitsubishi disposed its entire 15.86% stake in Proton, most of which were picked up by Khazanah Nasional, which holds 42.7% of Proton shares now. The Mitsubishi-Proton partnership was deemed a failure because of the lack of technology transfer.
, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Since then, it was Malaysia's dominant carmaker until the establishment of Perodua
in 1993. Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi Motors
, 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.
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, as well as the change from the lowercase italic text "proton" to uppercase "PROTON". 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. Proton Perdana
, based on the Mitsubishi Galant/Eterna
, was first produced in 1995, intended for higher end market. The Proton Waja
(Proton Impian in UK), which launched early 2001, is the first car model designed internally by Proton. By 2002 Proton held a market share of over 60% in Malaysia, which was reduced to barely 30% by 2005 and is expected to reduce further in 2008 when AFTA
mandates reduce import tariffs to a maximum of 5%.
With the acquisition of Lotus
technologies in 1996 from ACBN Holdings (a company owned by Volkswagen
), Proton has gained an additional source of engineering and automotive expertise. This led 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 8 June 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 2007, Proton launched its new sedan as a replacement version for the Wira Sedan but with a new name, Persona, which was previously used as an export name for models outside Malaysia. The new Proton Saga
replacement model (codenamed Proton BLM) was launched on 18 January 2008. The new Saga is based on the Savvy platform, but using a Campro 1.3L instead of a Renault engine. In addition, Proton has entered into talks with Mitsubishi Motors once again, and talks are going positive. This includes the Waja
replacement based on the Mitsubishi Lancer and the rebadging of Proton Persona
and Proton Exora
as Mitsubishi vehicles in certain markets. As of 3 August 2008, Proton has produced 3 million cars since 1985, where the 3 millionth car is a second-generation Saga.
, South Africa
, and Australia
and the company is aggressively marketing its cars in several other countries including the Middle East
. Besides that, Proton has also been exporting a small volume of cars to Singapore
, Brunei
, Indonesia
, Thailand
, Nepal
, Sri Lanka
, Pakistan
, Bangladesh
, Taiwan
, Cyprus
and Mauritius
. 14,706 Proton cars were exported in 2006 The export units jump to 21,261 in 2009 but fall to 18,769 in 2010 due to global recession
. http://www.miti.gov.my/storage/documents/5e2/com.tms.cms.document.Document_97fc2e84-c0a81573-51705170-5e1d9bc0/1/MITI%20Weekly%20Bulletin%20Volume%2079%20-%2004%20Februari%202010.pdf
Proton began its exports from Malaysia to other right hand drive markets like New Zealand
in the late 1980s, but its success was mostly limited to the United Kingdom
(a market it entered along with Ireland
in 1989). They advertised there with the slogan Japanese Technology, Malaysian Style. Proton cars proved popular among budget-oriented motorists, and like Japan
ese and South Korea
n models before them, led to the demise of manufacturers such as the Soviet Lada
and ex-Yugoslavia
n (now Serbia) 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 company also exited the Irish market in the early 1990s, following limited success in that country. 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 years.
Proton enjoyed brief success as a few units of the Saga and Wira were exported to Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) during the late 90s where they were used mainly as rentals. Proton cars were imported into Trinidad and Tobago between 1993 and 2002. They were sold through a local dealer, H.E Robinson Ltd. Only the Saga and Wira ever reached this market with the Wira enjoying modest sales success. The bankruptcy of the dealership forced the exit of Proton from Trinidad and Tobago in 2002.
Proton also produces models in left-hand drive, for export to continental Europe
. An entry into the United States
market was considered by Malcolm Bricklin
following Hyundai's
successful launch in the mid 1980s. However, exports to the U.S. never materialized.
In the United Kingdom, Proton cars suffer somewhat from a poor public image; they are considered poor quality products with very poor residual values compared to other cheap Pacific Rim cars from Kia, Chevrolet and Hyundai. In 1998 Proton attempted to change this by introducing the Proton Satria GTi - however, the car was somewhat out of reach to younger drivers due to high insurance premiums (the car was originally a group 16 and was reclassified in 2001 to group 14 but this still resulted in high premiums). The Satria GTi also sported a "Lotus Ride & Handling" badge which, coupled with an average security system, made it attractive to thieves. However, the vehicle was a success as far as handling was concerned which meant that, coupled with its 1.8 16-valve Double Overhead Cam Engine (which produced 133 bhp) a number were purchased by Octogon Race Circuits and used as track cars at Silverstone and Brands Hatch racing circuits. Proton’s current line-up includes the 5-door Savvy city car, the 3-door Satria Neo and new Satria Neo Sport, 5-door GEN-2 family hatchback and the 4-door GEN-2 saloon and LPG dual fuel GEN-2 ecoLogic range.
In July 2011, Proton has cause to celebrate following new research released by Direct Line Breakdown which has revealed the most reliable cars on British roads. According to the research, Proton’s range of cars has been listed as the fifth least likely to suffer mechanical breakdown, after Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan.
as tariffs on imported cars rose almost immediately following the formation of Proton. Also ASEAN Free Trade Area
(AFTA) agreements on relaxing entries into the ASEAN marketplace 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%. This was replaced by other duties such as excise duty resulting in no net decrease in automotive prices for importers.
For a short time, the Proton Wira
was marketed in the Philippines via LHD in 1994 with the establishment of Proton Pilipinas through the ASEAN Industrial Joint Venture (AIJV) Scheme before they pulled out due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
In Indonesia, Proton through its subsidiary PT Proton Edar Indonesia ("PT-PEI"), the Proton Neo and Proton Waja
were launched, at the 15th Indonesia International Motorshow, the biggest automotive event in the country.With these new additions, Proton now has four models in the Indonesian market. On 16 March 2007, the models Gen.2 and Savvy
were to mark Proton's entry into Indonesia.
Thailand sees Proton foray during introduction of Proton’s car line-up for Thailand at the Thailand Motor Show in early December 2007. Proton entering the Thai market through authorised dealer Phranakorn Auto Sales Co Ltd, which Ltd previously held the distributorship for Daihatsu, Opel, Hyundai and Holden, and is currently distributing Honda, Isuzu and Chevrolet cars as a mega dealer.
in its home country which was introduced in 2003, is the last of the Proton models on sale in Australia that still uses the old Mitsubishi technology. It has been an important model for Proton in Australia providing the market with a unique blend of passenger car-based design, half tonne capacity and low cost entry and running costs. The Jumbuck has been Proton's best seller since 2003 in Australia's ute market. The compact four cylinder Jumbuck has been designed to deliver passenger car comfort while meeting the demands of a workhorse vehicle. With good ground clearance, a roomy and very usable load area and a strong payload the Proton Jumbuck is proving ideal for a wide variety of uses from city delivery operations, to tradesman's ute, farm vehicle and even as an economical and stylish lifestyle transport for urban dwellers. Recently Proton is including a free 50cc ATV quad bike with every Jumbuck. According to Proton Cars Australia managing director John Startari the Jumbuck quad bike offer is a way of adding extra value and enhancing the attractiveness of Australia’s toughest half tonne ute. “Jumbuck has found great favour with buyers around the country thanks to its economy and reliability and this special limited offer will make it even more attractive,” Jumbuck was voted the lowest cost commercial vehicle to own and operate by NRMA Business Wise and is the perfect solution for hobby farms or as a company vehicle.
Through it fully owned subsidiary Proton Cars Australia Pty Limited, Proton's new S16 passenger car has provided a significant boost to the Malaysian car company's sales performance registering a 113.5 percent increase in sales volume for January compared with the same month in 2009. Along with a low purchase price the Proton S16 is economical to own and run sipping an average of just 6.3 litres/100 km as per ADR 81/02 while producing 82 kW at 6,000 rpm from its 1.6 litre Campro engine. Proton S16 is the only new four door sedan available in Australia for less than $16,000 and outpoints many low cost hatches and three door models by offering a 1.6 litre engine and great equipment levels.Miss Universe Australia 2009 winner Rachael Finch will be the proud face of the new Proton S16 and will be featured in TV commercials and print advertising campaigns.
The 2010-2011 NRMA vehicle running costs survey with the popular Persona taking the crown as Australia’s least expensive small car to operate. The 2010-2011 NRMA survey investigated not only the purchase price of over 1200 new cars but also fuel prices, depreciation, maintenance and insurance based on an annual distance of 15,000 kilometres travelled over a five-year period and Proton came out well on top. In the small car category Proton dominated with no less than six Proton variants in the top ten, also taking out the top 3 positions Both the Persona and Gen.2 vehicles featured in the small car category top 10.
, China
, where it did business in the 2002 with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co but withdrew after having a poor sales record. In July 2007, Proton signed an agreement with Youngman Automobile Group Ltd. Co., paving the way for the national carmaker to offer its products and services in China
. Under the agreements, Youngman will import 30,000 Gen.2 CBU (completely built-up) units and resell them under its own EuropeStar brand and eventually develop a new range of Made-in-China cars with the engineering services provided through Proton's Lotus
. Proton is expected to ship 1500 cars a month for 20 months starting December 2007 to fulfill the order.
The Europestar RCR was officially launched in China on the 9th of January 2008 in Beijing. Europestar is a brand of Youngman Automobile Sales Co. Ltd., and the Europestar RCR is basically a rebadged Proton GEN2. Youngman is confident of selling the 30,000 CBU units of Proton GEN2s within the 20 month delivery period, and has appointed 40 dealers to support the launch in terms of managing its sales, service and spare parts operations for the Europestar brand in China. CKD operations will begin soon after at Youngman’s plant in Jinan, which has an annual capacity of 300,000 units.
Genii is owned by Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux, who also run venture capital group Mangrove Capital Partners. Mangrove is famous for its hugely successful bet on Skype, which lets people make free phone calls over the Internet. As for Genii, now the 100 per cent owner of Lotus Renault, it has signed a deal that gives Group Lotus a two-year option to buy half of the racing team. Genii would be able to help Proton with its business relationships in Russia as well as to access advanced automotive technologies under its companies.
In 2009, a group of Iranian and Malaysian engineers and experts are working in Iran's Boroujerd Company to run Gen-2 assembly line, to assemble CKD kits of the Proton GEN2 at Zagross Khodro’s plant in Borujerd. The same plant also assembles Proton Wira
s. There are currently 9,634 Protons on the roads in Iran today, after Proton’s entry into the Iran market in 2002. 50,000 units Gen-2 cars will be produced yearly within the next five years with Proton supports production and supply car parts. Plan in the pipeline including assembly line of Malaysian Proton Saga (New Saga) running in Iran in the year 2010.
Proton first entered the Syrian market via a sole distributorship agreement with a Syrian company, Modern Technology Trading Company, a subsidiary of Habbal Group of Syria. The company, headed by Habbal Group chairman and chief executive officer Ghyath Al Habbal, holds distributorship rights for Proton cars in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Proton Holdings Bhd is strengthening its presence in the Middle East market, with the launch of the Persona model, is expected to boost the national car maker’s overall sales in Syria to over 5,000 units in the next three to five years. Proton have been selling cars in Syria since 2001 and after Gen-2, they are optimistic on how the Syrian market will accept the Persona, which has won many customers for being cost-effective with better fuel economy.
The Persona was launched by PROTON Holdings Berhad Managing Director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 22 November and in Egypt on 24 November. The Gen2 model was also jointly launched in Egypt.PROTON had entered the Saudi market in 2006 when it introduced the Waja model via a smart partnership collaboration with local outfit Al Rashed Al Thunayan Auto Co.In Egypt, PROTON first launched Waja and Wira models in 2001 and in 2006 brought in the Gen.2 hatchback. Similarly, PROTON had also established a smart partnership with an Egyptian company Alpha Ezz Elarab Co. as its distributor in the country. Both Al Rashed Al Thunayan Auto Co. and Alpha Ezz Elarab Co. have been instrumental in the development of PROTON sales in Saudi and Egypt respectively.
of Germany to establish a strategic partnership
. Under the tie-up, the two carmakers were expected to exploit each other's strengths. Proton would gain access to Volkswagen Group's superior technical capabilities and technology
. In return, Volkswagen Group would utilise Proton's spare capacity at the latter's Tanjung Malim
plant to assemble cars for export to the South-East Asian market, where the German auto giant had a weak presence.
On 13 January 2006, Volkswagen Group finally announced that negotiations about the partnership had failed because its desires clashed with the terms and conditions offered by Proton; their interest was more in eventually controlling Proton Holdings, rather than just being a strategic partner. Despite this, Malaysian news announced that Volkswagen AG had signed an agreement to buy a 51% share in Proton on 26 January 2007, which turned out to be unfounded. Throughout most of 2007, rumours about continuing merger talks with Volkswagen Group, and occasionally General Motors surfaced in the local press and at briefings given by top government officials.
Finally however, on 20 November 2007, Proton announced that talks regarding any partnership with Volkswagen Group had ended with immediate effect, citing improving sales over the year, a favorable export outlook, and confidence in management turning around the company without external collaboration. This unexpected announcement resulted in a 19% overnight drop in Proton's share price to their lowest value in seven years, due to the market's perceived uncertainty about the future financial viability of the company in an increasingly competitive local and world market. Proton did however state that they may resume talks about collaborating with other manufacturers at later unspecified dates.
announced plans to progressively roll out affordable electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2009. Proton cars are to be used and tested in order to validate Detroit Electric's technology and explore the potential to collaborate to create a range of pure electric cars. Detroit Electric has to date integrated its electric drive systems into Proton's Lotus Elise and two Proton passenger cars. Detroit Electric hoped to collaborate with Proton to sell electric cars for the Southeast Asian market or to use Proton's existing manufacturing platform to produce electric cars under the Detroit Electric brand. The company planned to roll out 30,000 electric cars by 2010, as he demonstrated their performance at a Proton test circuit in Shah Alam
, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur
.
OSK Research Sdn Bhd's analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman said this was based on the information given by the national carmaker, adding that on the higher end of the scale it could have supplied up to 17,000 cars. "Based on the agreement between the two that a minimum 30,000 cars will be supplied over two years, Proton appears to be on track." he told the newspaper.
Youngman is assembling Lotus and Europestar branded cars in Guangdong for the Domestic Chinese and export market. The units receive a Chinese independent brand to differentiate itself from the English sports car models. The Chinese part of the Lotus Cars is better known under the name Youngman Lotus. Youngman Europestar launched a new car at Auto China 2010, engineered by Lotus for the Chinese company. The previously launched RCR (GEN2) and Jingyue (Persona) have been renamed the Lotus L3 5-door and 4-door respectively, while this new model has been christened the “Europestar Lotus L5″. The Youngman L5 is based on a Proton GEN2 platform with a lengthened wheelbase of 2,670mm which is 70mm longer than the original GEN2 wheelbase.
In Proton’s announcement in Bursa Malaysia, it stated that the relationship of Proton and Youngman is one of independent contracting parties and shall not be construed as creating an agency or partnership between the parties.
for £40,640,000.This was later increased to 100% in 2003. A later PriceWaterhouse Coopers audit would find that the CEO, Yahaya Ahmad, had inked the agreement on 16 October 1996. The agreement was presented to the board for approval on 27 November 1996. As part of the purchase agreement (signed prior to board agreement), there were restrictions placed on Proton's ownership of Lotus. One of the restrictions was a prohibition on diluting ACBN's remaining shareholding for a period of five years. This restricted Proton in its operation of the Lotus business and required Proton to guarantee a £40 million loan in 2000.
of Italy
at 70 million Euro. MV Agusta was the manufacturer of MV Agusta, Husqvarna
, and Cagiva
motorcycles. A year later, Proton sold off its 57.7% share in MV Agusta to Italy's GEVI Spa for a token of 1 Euro. Due to heavy debt by MV Agusta, the selling enabled Proton to write off the losses off its book, but the buyer would assume the €107 million ($174 million) debt. In August 2007, GEVI SpA the company that bought over MV Agusta for 1 Euro sold the brand Husqvarna and its factory to BMW for a reported 93 million Euros leading to speculations by the Malaysian public of bad management of the company's board of directors resulting in further loss of reputation for the company.
which was the historic name of all previous Lotus F1 teams. When Lotus returned to F1, Mike Gascoyne
was appointed as technical director, and Tony Fernandes
was appointed as team principal. However, Tony Fernandes announced that he would step down at the start of the 2010 season, so Riad Asmat
was appointed as his replacement.
On the eve of the High Court hearing in March 2011, David Hunt claimed that Tony Fernandes had refused to honour his contractual obligations in purchasing the Team Lotus name and was attempting to renegotiate the contract with terms that Hunt described as "ludicrous".[46] Hunt issued an ultimatum, stating that if Fernandes did not honour the original contract, then Hunt would not support him in his case against Group Lotus, which he claimed had "[some] potentially serious holes".[46] Team Lotus went into the 2011 Australian Grand Prix with David Hunt's support in their case against Group Lotus having made a U-turn on his previous criticisms of Fernandes and the team.[47] On 27 May 2011, the High Court ruled that the team would be able to continue using the Lotus name in Formula One and confirmed Fernandes as the owner of the Team Lotus name having bought the rights to the name from Hunt; they also have the right to call their cars "Lotus", under the terms of a 1985 agreement between Group Lotus and Team Lotus. It also ruled Group Lotus cannot enter Formula One using the name Lotus for a team name, but Team Lotus was told to pay damages after they were found to be in breach of the licensing agreement made with Group Lotus.[48]
For 2011, the Lotus Renault GP cars will race in a new interpretation of the iconic black and gold colours that were last used when Lotus and Renault joined forces in the 1980s. This livery, which has been on the drawing board for over two months in order to reinterpret its iconic graphic signature to suit modern media requirements, is sure to strike a powerful chord with the sport’s enthusiasts around the world. Genii Capital and Group Lotus plc announced the creation of Lotus Renault GP, the successor to the Renault F1 Team that will contest the 2011 FIA Formula One™ World Championship on 1 January 2011. This exciting announcement is made in the context of a strategic alliance between the two companies that will provide Group Lotus with significant technological and commercial opportunities for its range of road cars. The new partnership has been enabled by Renault selling its remaining shares in the team to Genii Capital. Group Lotus plc will subsequently become a major equity partner in Lotus Renault GP, which it will co-own with Genii Capital. Renault will continue its strong support of the team with which it won the 2005 and 2006 world championships, as a supplier of engines and technological and engineering expertise. Reflecting this technological support, Lotus Renault GP will continue to compete with the Renault chassis name and Renault will enjoy pre-eminent brand exposure on the livery.
Following the return of the Lotus name to F1 in 2010, under licence from Group Lotus, this historic announcement marks the complete return of the Lotus manufacturer to the sport, with the full backing of its parent company Proton. Group Lotus plc will become a major equity partner of Genii Capital in Lotus Renault GP, and the two parties have concluded a title sponsorship agreement that will run until the end of the 2017 season. With the continued support of Renault as a supplier of engines and technological and engineering expertise, Lotus Renault GP enjoys a strong, stable platform for future success.
Participating in the GP3 Series, Lotus-Art showcases the competencies of young driving talent.
The series is designed to harness young driver’s raw competencies and offer a proving ground in which drivers can grow their craftsmanship. Lotus & ART have joined forces in 2011 to compete in the FIA GP2 Championship, widely regarded as the principal proving ground for future F1 Drivers. KV - Racing Technology Lotus enters its 2nd season as partners and will contest this years Championship with 3 cars, driven by multi-race winner Tony Kanaan, ex-F1 Driver Takuma Sato and EJ Viso. The 2011 Indycar series is the 100th season of America's premier category of Open Wheel Racing. The series blue ribbon event was the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May, the single largest sporting event in the World.
with Proton Satria Neo Super 2000
. Their best result in IRC is Alister McRae
finish 2nd place at 2009 Rally Scotland
. Drivers in 2009 were Karamjit Singh
, Guy Wilks
, Bryan Bouffier
and Alister McRae
scoring 13 points. In 2010
Proton team had many retirements and did not score a single point. Drivers for 2010 were Alister McRae
, Chris Atkinson
, Niall McShea
, Keith Cronin
, Gilles Panizzi
and privateer with factory support, Tom Cave
. Best result of 2010 season was 22nd place of Gilles Panizzi at 2010 Rallye Sanremo
, although it was the only finish of Proton Satria Neo S2000 in this season.
Two of the cars were also used in a rally challenge between the hosts of Top Gear UK (Series 16, Episode 03) and Top Gear Australia
(The Ashes Special). The Stig
(UK) and Steve Pizzati
(Australia) drove the two cars while Richard Hammond
(UK) and Ewen Page
(Australia) guided the respective drivers across a rally track.
In 1983, when the 'national car' was planned, Malaysia had an annual new car market of about 90,000 units, and the market was growing annually by 20%. The Proton plant was designed to produce 80,000 units a year and could be geared up to 120,000 units. But in Proton's first full year of production (1986), total car sales took a severe dip to 47,000 and next year, due to a worsening economic situation, just 35,000. Only in 1988 did the market begin a recovery to 54,000 units, by now most of them Protons. Since then, the market has grown steadily to a 2005 peak of 417,000 cars
Government policy has kept the Proton cheaper than other makes by the simple strategy of taxing the competition, while giving Proton exemptions or rebates from these same taxes. Duties on packages of parts for assembly into complete cars in Malaysia is said to average about 30%. Proton is exempted from most of these
On 1 January 2008, the postponed-several-times full implementation of an ASEAN Free Trade Agreement which Malaysia originally signed on to in January 1992, was to finally have come into effect. The agreement would effectively bar practices that discriminate against goods (including vehicles) that are considered “Made in ASEAN” by the use of Tariff
and/or Non-Tariff Barriers
. This would practically eliminate most of the price advantage, achieved by way of the 50% rebate Proton (and other “Malaysian-made” cars) enjoy on a hefty (75 to 105%) engine-capacity-related Excise Duty applied to new cars sold in Malaysia.
This rebate is largely responsible for non-Malaysia ASEAN-made cars costing between 30 and 60 % more than an equivalent Malaysian-made vehicle. With a “level playing field”, within the confines of CEPT (which till end 2009 allows a maximum 5% import duty, reducing to zero in 2010) using existing FOB
prices, an ASEAN (Thai-made) Honda or Toyota would sell for within 10% of a comparable Proton, and would probably result in the devastation of Proton's market share and the company. As it appears that this would be an unacceptable consequence to the Malaysian government, for the time being, local car manufacturers will be allowed to continue receiving the excise duty rebate, with the Malaysian Government picking up the tab for probable penalties it will have to pay to ASEAN members for violating established free-trade regulations.
As 2008 progressed, it became apparent that more and more global manufacturers reasoned that the level playing field stipulated by CEPT will continue to be ignored by the Malaysian government for as long as possible. This temporarily derailed these manufacturers' previous plans to use Thailand (principally) as their ASEAN manufacturing hub, and forced them to reintroduce Malaysian-assembly of some models from CKD. This move allowed these foreign marques to benefit from better tariff structures applied to such vehicles, in an effort to remain competitive (in the non-National car segment), and to narrow the price difference between their models and equivalent (Excise Duty rebated) Malaysian-made cars.
The very latest update to the Malaysian Automotive Policy framework (October 2009) fails to mention any change in this discriminatory rebate policy, thereby reinforcing the suspicion that the Government will not abide by stipulated "level playing field" requirements for the foreseeable future. It should be noted that the main “solution” being pushed by the Malaysian Government to maintain the pricing advantage of locally made cars, by providing grants and subsidies (to counteract any potential removal of the excise Duty rebate) would also be deemed to be non-compliant with the Trade Agreement, contravening Non-tariff barriers to trade
requirements.
The lack of direct competition at Proton models' price points (in Malaysia) has also allowed Proton, for many years, to continue selling very outdated designs, generally with scant regards to providing basic safety equipment such as airbags and anti-lock braking in domestic models. Additionally, J.D. Power survey results have consistently shown that Protons have poorer rankings in initial quality than the available competition
to overtake Proton as the country's largest passenger carmaker for the first time, with a 41.6% market share, while Proton's market share fell from 40% in 2005 to 32% in 2006. In the period ending December 31, 2006, Proton has also suffered three consecutive quarterly losses. Compared to a profit of 86.5 million ringgit in 2005, the car company lost 281.5 million ringgit in 2006. Proton blamed discounts from rivals. Total losses in 2007s financial year climbed to $169 million.
The Employees Provident Fund
(EPF) acquired an additional 830,000 shares in a transaction that spanned between January 5 and January 12, 2007. This mean all Malaysian are shareholder of the national car maker.
As compared to Proton, Perodua
has been quite successful in its business ventures. Its cars are very popular among Malaysians, such as the Perodua Myvi
, which sold 80,327 units in 2006, outselling its rivals best selling car, the Proton Wira
then, which only sold 28,886 units in Malaysia. In 2006-2010, Perodua
became the best selling car company in Malaysia. In the first half 2011, the table has turn upside down where a highlight of the figures was that Proton had overtaken Perodua
to be the best-selling brand this year. It’s been many years since the first national carmaker has been No.1 and though part of the reason was that Perodua’s supply in the second quarter was limited (due to phasing-out of the old Myvi) and also the problems caused by the amendments to the H-P Act, it has also to be said that Proton’s current line-up is its strongest ever and has drawn many customers, noted the core models Proton Saga
and Proton Persona
. Proton delivered 85,223 units to take a 28.7% share of the TIV while Perodua delivered 79,467 units, a difference of 5,756 units.
PROTON Holdings Berhad registered a profit before tax of RM186 million in the first half of its 2010/11 financial year benefitting from the improved market sentiments and conditions which had accounted for a 13% increase in its vehicle sales. The growing demand for Proton vehicles were significantly contributed by three core models; the Saga, Persona and Exora.
, the English football club
. The Lotus brand was advertised on the club's away shirts. From 1999 to 2000 Proton 5x5 was Fenerbahçe's sponsor. Proton Cars Australia already sponsored a rugby team from Australia which is Wests Tigers.
Proton name is also synonymous with Le Tour de Langkawi Cycling Tour since its inception in providing crew fleet of cars. It is the Official Car Provider for Le Tour de Langkawi 2011 which in turn sponsoring a total of 150 unit of cars of various Proton models plus other merchandises to an estimated total value RM600,000. As part of the sponsorship, Proton also providing technical assistance for the maintenance of the sponsored cars and also in the case of breakdowns. For this purpose, Proton dispatching approximately 50 personnels comprising technical experts, drivers for the Cavalcade
Convoy and other representatives of Proton who be on stand-by to provide assistance throughout the event.
Subang Jaya
Subang Jaya is a suburban city in the Klang Valley, Selangor, Malaysia. It comprises the southern third of the district of Petaling, and is home to a third of the district population of 1.78 million. Subang Jaya comprises , Bandar Sunway, UEP Subang Jaya, Putra Heights and Batu Tiga...
and Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
, Malaysia, with a manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim
Tanjung Malim
Tanjung Malim is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is approximately north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway. It lies on the Perak-Selangor state border, with Sungai Bernam serving as the natural divider....
, Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
. Founded in 1983, it was Malaysia's only carmaker until the establishment of its competitor and arch-rival, Perodua
Perodua
The ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...
, in 1993. Its name is a Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (National Automobile Enterprise).
It is a core member of Proton Holdings Berhad
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
, the holding company which is listed on Bursa Malaysia
Bursa Malaysia
Bursa Malaysia is an exchange holding company approved under Section 15 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. It operates a fully integrated exchange, offering the complete range of exchange-related services including trading, clearing, settlement and depository services.- History :Bursa...
. Majority of its equity is owned by a government-owned company Khazanah Nasional Berhad
Khazanah Nasional
Khazanah Nasional Berhad is the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia entrusted to hold and manage the commercial assets of the government and to undertake strategic investments. Khazanah was incorporated under the Companies Act 1965 on 3 September 1993 as a public limited company...
, making it government-linked company (GLC). For more than 2 decades since its establishment, this stake was jointly owned by Mitsubishi Motors and parent Mitsubishi Corp. which each held a 7.93% stake in Proton until they sold it in March 2004. Mitsubishi disposed its entire 15.86% stake in Proton, most of which were picked up by Khazanah Nasional, which holds 42.7% of Proton shares now. The Mitsubishi-Proton partnership was deemed a failure because of the lack of technology transfer.
History
It was established in 1983 under the direction of the former Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Since then, it was Malaysia's dominant carmaker until the establishment of Perodua
Perodua
The ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...
in 1993. Based on technology and parts from Mitsubishi Motors
Mitsubishi Motors
is a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
, production of the first model, the Proton Saga
Proton Saga
- Saga :The Proton Saga was launched in September 1985 by Malaysia's then Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Before the production of Proton Saga, a contest was held to choose the name of the first national car, and the name Saga was chosen from the winner of the contest, Ismail Jaafar, a...
began in September 1985 at its first manufacturing plant in Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
. 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.
Until the end of the 1990s, the car's logo featured the crest from Malaysia's coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, featuring a crescent and a fourteen-pointed star. The new Proton logo features a stylized tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
head, as well as the change from the lowercase italic text "proton" to uppercase "PROTON". In 1993, a model called Proton Wira
Proton Wira
The Proton Wira was a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton, released as a four-door saloon and four-door hatchback beginning 1993. The Wira was intended as a newer alternative to the Proton Saga Iswara, a facelifted version of Proton's first model, the Proton Saga, as a flagship compact...
was introduced based on the Mitsubishi Lancer/Colt
Mitsubishi Lancer
The Mitsubishi Lancer is a family car built by Mitsubishi Motors. It has been known as the Colt Lancer, Dodge/Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, Eagle Summit, Hindustan Lancer, Soueast Lioncel, Mitsubishi Carisma, and Mitsubishi Mirage in various countries at different times,...
. More than 220,000 units were sold between 1996 and 1998. Proton Perdana
Proton Perdana
The Proton Perdana is an intermediate-size automobile produced by Proton. It is a badge engineered version of the seventh-generation Mitsubishi Eterna. Perdana is a Malay word for "Prime".- Perdana SEi :...
, based on the Mitsubishi Galant/Eterna
Mitsubishi Galant
The first generation of the car, initially known as the Colt Galant, was released in December 1969. The design was dubbed "Dynawedge" by Mitsubishi, referring to the influence of aerodynamics on the silhouette. Three models were available, powered by the new 'Saturn' engine in 1.3 or 1.5 L ...
, was first produced in 1995, intended for higher end market. The Proton Waja
Proton Waja
The Proton Waja is a saloon car designed in-house by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, first released in August 2000. The Waja is the first Malaysian-designed car. The name Waja, which means "the king", meaning it is the "king" of all of the previous models. The name was chosen partly to...
(Proton Impian in UK), which launched early 2001, is the first car model designed internally by Proton. By 2002 Proton held a market share of over 60% in Malaysia, which was reduced to barely 30% by 2005 and is expected to reduce further in 2008 when AFTA
ASEAN Free Trade Area
ASEAN Free Trade Area is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries....
mandates reduce import tariffs to a maximum of 5%.
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
technologies in 1996 from ACBN Holdings (a company owned by Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
), Proton has gained an additional source of engineering and automotive expertise. This led to the production of Proton Gen-2
Proton Gen-2
Sometime after the launch of the standard Gen-2, comes the special edition. It is fitted with a full body-kit, leather seats and lightweight sport rims. Handling is slightly better with the broader tires fitted and it is more aerodynamic...
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
Tanjung Malim
Tanjung Malim is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is approximately north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway. It lies on the Perak-Selangor state border, with Sungai Bernam serving as the natural divider....
, Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
which is part of Proton City
Proton City
Proton City is a new township with industrial, commercial and residential activities spread over 4,000 acres...
development project. The plant was opened in 2004. On 8 June 2005 Proton introduced the second model to be manufactured in Tanjung Malim, the 1,200 cc 5-door supermini, the Proton Savvy
Proton Savvy
The Proton Savvy is a supermini hatchback produced by Malaysian car manufacturer Proton. The car was introduced in June 2005 as a successor to Proton Tiara.- History :...
. 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 2007, Proton launched its new sedan as a replacement version for the Wira Sedan but with a new name, Persona, which was previously used as an export name for models outside Malaysia. The new Proton Saga
Proton Saga
- Saga :The Proton Saga was launched in September 1985 by Malaysia's then Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Before the production of Proton Saga, a contest was held to choose the name of the first national car, and the name Saga was chosen from the winner of the contest, Ismail Jaafar, a...
replacement model (codenamed Proton BLM) was launched on 18 January 2008. The new Saga is based on the Savvy platform, but using a Campro 1.3L instead of a Renault engine. In addition, Proton has entered into talks with Mitsubishi Motors once again, and talks are going positive. This includes the Waja
Proton Waja
The Proton Waja is a saloon car designed in-house by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, first released in August 2000. The Waja is the first Malaysian-designed car. The name Waja, which means "the king", meaning it is the "king" of all of the previous models. The name was chosen partly to...
replacement based on the Mitsubishi Lancer and the rebadging of Proton Persona
Proton Persona
The Proton Persona is a compact car introduced by Proton in 2007 for the same model year. Being an in-house design by Azlan Othman, the Persona replaced the saloon variant of the successful Proton Wira, whose export name is not confused with this model's same name, as Proton's compact car.It is...
and Proton Exora
Proton Exora
The Proton Exora is a compact MPV vehicle produced by Malaysian car manufacturer Proton and launched on 15 April 2009. It is a new model from Proton based on a new chassis. The development of this MPV started from scratch and it is the first Malaysian-designed MPV...
as Mitsubishi vehicles in certain markets. As of 3 August 2008, Proton has produced 3 million cars since 1985, where the 3 millionth car is a second-generation Saga.
Proton worldwide
Proton exports cars to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the company is aggressively marketing its cars in several other countries including the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Besides that, Proton has also been exporting a small volume of cars to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. 14,706 Proton cars were exported in 2006 The export units jump to 21,261 in 2009 but fall to 18,769 in 2010 due to global recession
Global recession
A global recession is a period of global economic slowdown. The International Monetary Fund takes many factors into account when defining a global recession, but it states that global economic growth of 3 percent or less is "equivalent to a global recession".By this measure, four periods since...
. http://www.miti.gov.my/storage/documents/5e2/com.tms.cms.document.Document_97fc2e84-c0a81573-51705170-5e1d9bc0/1/MITI%20Weekly%20Bulletin%20Volume%2079%20-%2004%20Februari%202010.pdf
Proton began its exports from Malaysia to other right hand drive markets like New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the late 1980s, but its success was mostly limited to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(a market it entered along with Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1989). They advertised there with the slogan Japanese Technology, Malaysian Style. Proton cars proved popular among budget-oriented motorists, and like Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n models before them, led to the demise of manufacturers such as the Soviet Lada
Lada
Lada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
and ex-Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n (now Serbia) Zastava
Zastava
Zastava can refer to:*Zastava Arms*Zastava Automobiles*Zastava Trucks...
. By the 1990s, Proton had withdrawn from the New Zealand market after offering only the Saga four-door and Persona five-door models. The company also exited the Irish market in the early 1990s, following limited success in that country. The Persona and Natura models were sold in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
briefly during the late nineties by a local Nissan importer, but few were sold and the venture ended after two years.
Proton enjoyed brief success as a few units of the Saga and Wira were exported to Trinidad & Tobago (Caribbean) during the late 90s where they were used mainly as rentals. Proton cars were imported into Trinidad and Tobago between 1993 and 2002. They were sold through a local dealer, H.E Robinson Ltd. Only the Saga and Wira ever reached this market with the Wira enjoying modest sales success. The bankruptcy of the dealership forced the exit of Proton from Trinidad and Tobago in 2002.
Proton also produces models in left-hand drive, for export to continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. An entry into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
market was considered by Malcolm Bricklin
Malcolm Bricklin
Malcolm Bricklin born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an automotive entrepreneur. He is best known for his self-named automobile company, and for being one of the few Americans who has successfully introduced foreign cars in bulk to the American public from firms such as Subaru, Fiat and...
following Hyundai's
Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...
successful launch in the mid 1980s. However, exports to the U.S. never materialized.
United Kingdom
Proton sales seem to be slowly declining in the United Kingdom with 2008 sales at 1518 (0.07% share of the market), compared to 2752 in 2002. These figures are insignificant compared to 2008 UK sales of 28,036 for South Korea's Hyundai and 29,397 for Spain's SEAT. In 2009 Proton's UK sales fell further and the marque sold only 960 cars with a reduced 0.05% market share. By 2010, only 767 cars sold in UK. http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/uk-auto-sales-by-brand-2010-year-end.htmlIn the United Kingdom, Proton cars suffer somewhat from a poor public image; they are considered poor quality products with very poor residual values compared to other cheap Pacific Rim cars from Kia, Chevrolet and Hyundai. In 1998 Proton attempted to change this by introducing the Proton Satria GTi - however, the car was somewhat out of reach to younger drivers due to high insurance premiums (the car was originally a group 16 and was reclassified in 2001 to group 14 but this still resulted in high premiums). The Satria GTi also sported a "Lotus Ride & Handling" badge which, coupled with an average security system, made it attractive to thieves. However, the vehicle was a success as far as handling was concerned which meant that, coupled with its 1.8 16-valve Double Overhead Cam Engine (which produced 133 bhp) a number were purchased by Octogon Race Circuits and used as track cars at Silverstone and Brands Hatch racing circuits. Proton’s current line-up includes the 5-door Savvy city car, the 3-door Satria Neo and new Satria Neo Sport, 5-door GEN-2 family hatchback and the 4-door GEN-2 saloon and LPG dual fuel GEN-2 ecoLogic range.
In July 2011, Proton has cause to celebrate following new research released by Direct Line Breakdown which has revealed the most reliable cars on British roads. According to the research, Proton’s range of cars has been listed as the fifth least likely to suffer mechanical breakdown, after Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan.
ASEAN countries
The model that Malaysia has followed with the formation of Proton may be used as a case study for rent seekingRent seeking
In economics, rent-seeking is an attempt to derive economic rent by manipulating the social or political environment in which economic activities occur, rather than by adding value...
as tariffs on imported cars rose almost immediately following the formation of Proton. Also ASEAN Free Trade Area
ASEAN Free Trade Area
ASEAN Free Trade Area is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries....
(AFTA) agreements on relaxing entries into the ASEAN marketplace 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%. This was replaced by other duties such as excise duty resulting in no net decrease in automotive prices for importers.
For a short time, the Proton Wira
Proton Wira
The Proton Wira was a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton, released as a four-door saloon and four-door hatchback beginning 1993. The Wira was intended as a newer alternative to the Proton Saga Iswara, a facelifted version of Proton's first model, the Proton Saga, as a flagship compact...
was marketed in the Philippines via LHD in 1994 with the establishment of Proton Pilipinas through the ASEAN Industrial Joint Venture (AIJV) Scheme before they pulled out due to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
In Indonesia, Proton through its subsidiary PT Proton Edar Indonesia ("PT-PEI"), the Proton Neo and Proton Waja
Proton Waja
The Proton Waja is a saloon car designed in-house by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, first released in August 2000. The Waja is the first Malaysian-designed car. The name Waja, which means "the king", meaning it is the "king" of all of the previous models. The name was chosen partly to...
were launched, at the 15th Indonesia International Motorshow, the biggest automotive event in the country.With these new additions, Proton now has four models in the Indonesian market. On 16 March 2007, the models Gen.2 and Savvy
Savvy
Savvy can refer to:*Proton Savvy, a supermini car*Intelligence or common sense*Savvy Records, a record label*Savvy , a book*Savvy , a fashion magazine*Savvy Schmidt, a talk show host...
were to mark Proton's entry into Indonesia.
Thailand sees Proton foray during introduction of Proton’s car line-up for Thailand at the Thailand Motor Show in early December 2007. Proton entering the Thai market through authorised dealer Phranakorn Auto Sales Co Ltd, which Ltd previously held the distributorship for Daihatsu, Opel, Hyundai and Holden, and is currently distributing Honda, Isuzu and Chevrolet cars as a mega dealer.
Australia
Jumbuck, known as Proton ArenaProton Arena
The Proton Arena is a small front wheel drive coupé utility manufactured by Malaysian automaker Proton...
in its home country which was introduced in 2003, is the last of the Proton models on sale in Australia that still uses the old Mitsubishi technology. It has been an important model for Proton in Australia providing the market with a unique blend of passenger car-based design, half tonne capacity and low cost entry and running costs. The Jumbuck has been Proton's best seller since 2003 in Australia's ute market. The compact four cylinder Jumbuck has been designed to deliver passenger car comfort while meeting the demands of a workhorse vehicle. With good ground clearance, a roomy and very usable load area and a strong payload the Proton Jumbuck is proving ideal for a wide variety of uses from city delivery operations, to tradesman's ute, farm vehicle and even as an economical and stylish lifestyle transport for urban dwellers. Recently Proton is including a free 50cc ATV quad bike with every Jumbuck. According to Proton Cars Australia managing director John Startari the Jumbuck quad bike offer is a way of adding extra value and enhancing the attractiveness of Australia’s toughest half tonne ute. “Jumbuck has found great favour with buyers around the country thanks to its economy and reliability and this special limited offer will make it even more attractive,” Jumbuck was voted the lowest cost commercial vehicle to own and operate by NRMA Business Wise and is the perfect solution for hobby farms or as a company vehicle.
Through it fully owned subsidiary Proton Cars Australia Pty Limited, Proton's new S16 passenger car has provided a significant boost to the Malaysian car company's sales performance registering a 113.5 percent increase in sales volume for January compared with the same month in 2009. Along with a low purchase price the Proton S16 is economical to own and run sipping an average of just 6.3 litres/100 km as per ADR 81/02 while producing 82 kW at 6,000 rpm from its 1.6 litre Campro engine. Proton S16 is the only new four door sedan available in Australia for less than $16,000 and outpoints many low cost hatches and three door models by offering a 1.6 litre engine and great equipment levels.Miss Universe Australia 2009 winner Rachael Finch will be the proud face of the new Proton S16 and will be featured in TV commercials and print advertising campaigns.
The 2010-2011 NRMA vehicle running costs survey with the popular Persona taking the crown as Australia’s least expensive small car to operate. The 2010-2011 NRMA survey investigated not only the purchase price of over 1200 new cars but also fuel prices, depreciation, maintenance and insurance based on an annual distance of 15,000 kilometres travelled over a five-year period and Proton came out well on top. In the small car category Proton dominated with no less than six Proton variants in the top ten, also taking out the top 3 positions Both the Persona and Gen.2 vehicles featured in the small car category top 10.
China
Recently Proton returned to GuangdongGuangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where it did business in the 2002 with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co but withdrew after having a poor sales record. In July 2007, Proton signed an agreement with Youngman Automobile Group Ltd. Co., paving the way for the national carmaker to offer its products and services in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Under the agreements, Youngman will import 30,000 Gen.2 CBU (completely built-up) units and resell them under its own EuropeStar brand and eventually develop a new range of Made-in-China cars with the engineering services provided through Proton's Lotus
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
. Proton is expected to ship 1500 cars a month for 20 months starting December 2007 to fulfill the order.
The Europestar RCR was officially launched in China on the 9th of January 2008 in Beijing. Europestar is a brand of Youngman Automobile Sales Co. Ltd., and the Europestar RCR is basically a rebadged Proton GEN2. Youngman is confident of selling the 30,000 CBU units of Proton GEN2s within the 20 month delivery period, and has appointed 40 dealers to support the launch in terms of managing its sales, service and spare parts operations for the Europestar brand in China. CKD operations will begin soon after at Youngman’s plant in Jinan, which has an annual capacity of 300,000 units.
India
The market in India is for small cars, namely the A and B segment cars as well as MPVs. Proton Holdings Bhd intends to finalise discussions with a global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) within this quarter to set up contract assembly manufacturing operations in India. Proton was hoping to engage in contract assembly manufacturing via a joint venture effort with the OEM. They like to incorporate their own subsidiary that would work with a local partner to distribute cars in India. The local partner in India “already had a plant and assembling its own cars.” Proton was looking at offering the Saga, Persona, Exora multipurpose vehicle (MPV) and Emas hybrid in India.Russia
Proton Holdings Bhd's entry into Formula One (F1) racing is more than just about turning around wholly owned Group Lotus plc, as it may also open doors for it to do business in Russia. Genii Capital, the investment company that owns Lotus Renault GP team, the team Group Lotus will partner in FI, thinks it could help Proton enter the emerging market of more than 160 million people.Genii is owned by Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux, who also run venture capital group Mangrove Capital Partners. Mangrove is famous for its hugely successful bet on Skype, which lets people make free phone calls over the Internet. As for Genii, now the 100 per cent owner of Lotus Renault, it has signed a deal that gives Group Lotus a two-year option to buy half of the racing team. Genii would be able to help Proton with its business relationships in Russia as well as to access advanced automotive technologies under its companies.
Middle East
In Iran, Proton will be supplying 5,000 units of the Proton Waja to be used as taxis in Iran through Iran’s Zagross Khodro group. It is marketed as the Proton Impian there, the same name used in other export markets such as the UK market. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tehran in the same regard. Director Generals of Iranian Zagros Khodro and Malaysian Proton car manufacturing companies have inked mass production agreement. Proton and Zagros Khodro companies have been commercial partners for over seven years and the new agreement for Gen-2 production in Iran is concluded for a new level of cooperation.In 2009, a group of Iranian and Malaysian engineers and experts are working in Iran's Boroujerd Company to run Gen-2 assembly line, to assemble CKD kits of the Proton GEN2 at Zagross Khodro’s plant in Borujerd. The same plant also assembles Proton Wira
Proton Wira
The Proton Wira was a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton, released as a four-door saloon and four-door hatchback beginning 1993. The Wira was intended as a newer alternative to the Proton Saga Iswara, a facelifted version of Proton's first model, the Proton Saga, as a flagship compact...
s. There are currently 9,634 Protons on the roads in Iran today, after Proton’s entry into the Iran market in 2002. 50,000 units Gen-2 cars will be produced yearly within the next five years with Proton supports production and supply car parts. Plan in the pipeline including assembly line of Malaysian Proton Saga (New Saga) running in Iran in the year 2010.
Proton first entered the Syrian market via a sole distributorship agreement with a Syrian company, Modern Technology Trading Company, a subsidiary of Habbal Group of Syria. The company, headed by Habbal Group chairman and chief executive officer Ghyath Al Habbal, holds distributorship rights for Proton cars in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Proton Holdings Bhd is strengthening its presence in the Middle East market, with the launch of the Persona model, is expected to boost the national car maker’s overall sales in Syria to over 5,000 units in the next three to five years. Proton have been selling cars in Syria since 2001 and after Gen-2, they are optimistic on how the Syrian market will accept the Persona, which has won many customers for being cost-effective with better fuel economy.
The Persona was launched by PROTON Holdings Berhad Managing Director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 22 November and in Egypt on 24 November. The Gen2 model was also jointly launched in Egypt.PROTON had entered the Saudi market in 2006 when it introduced the Waja model via a smart partnership collaboration with local outfit Al Rashed Al Thunayan Auto Co.In Egypt, PROTON first launched Waja and Wira models in 2001 and in 2006 brought in the Gen.2 hatchback. Similarly, PROTON had also established a smart partnership with an Egyptian company Alpha Ezz Elarab Co. as its distributor in the country. Both Al Rashed Al Thunayan Auto Co. and Alpha Ezz Elarab Co. have been instrumental in the development of PROTON sales in Saudi and Egypt respectively.
Japan
The 2011 Proton Satria Neo CPS R3 was debuted during the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011. Japanese auto part company Carrosser Co., Ltd. (CUSCO) imports the 2011 Satria Neo CPS R3 and equips the Satria Neos with CUSCO performance parts before being resold to rally teams in Japan and Asia Pacific. As the importer and distributor of the PROTON Satria Neo from Malaysia to Japan, Carrosser had taken on a project to build a Group N machine for the CUSCO Junior Rally Team with this chassis. In addition, CUSCO also forms their own team running on the Satria Neos to compete in the 2011 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, making the team as the second team to use the Proton Satria Neo for the championship.Abortive strategic partnership with Volkswagen AG
In October 2004, Proton announced that an understanding had been reached with Volkswagen AGVolkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
of Germany to establish a strategic partnership
Strategic partnership
A strategic partnership is a formal alliance between two commercial enterprises, usually formalized by one or more business contracts but falls short of forming a legal partnership or, agency, or corporate affiliate relationship....
. Under the tie-up, the two carmakers were expected to exploit each other's strengths. Proton would gain access to Volkswagen Group's superior technical capabilities and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. In return, Volkswagen Group would utilise Proton's spare capacity at the latter's Tanjung Malim
Tanjung Malim
Tanjung Malim is a town in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is approximately north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway. It lies on the Perak-Selangor state border, with Sungai Bernam serving as the natural divider....
plant to assemble cars for export to the South-East Asian market, where the German auto giant had a weak presence.
On 13 January 2006, Volkswagen Group finally announced that negotiations about the partnership had failed because its desires clashed with the terms and conditions offered by Proton; their interest was more in eventually controlling Proton Holdings, rather than just being a strategic partner. Despite this, Malaysian news announced that Volkswagen AG had signed an agreement to buy a 51% share in Proton on 26 January 2007, which turned out to be unfounded. Throughout most of 2007, rumours about continuing merger talks with Volkswagen Group, and occasionally General Motors surfaced in the local press and at briefings given by top government officials.
Finally however, on 20 November 2007, Proton announced that talks regarding any partnership with Volkswagen Group had ended with immediate effect, citing improving sales over the year, a favorable export outlook, and confidence in management turning around the company without external collaboration. This unexpected announcement resulted in a 19% overnight drop in Proton's share price to their lowest value in seven years, due to the market's perceived uncertainty about the future financial viability of the company in an increasingly competitive local and world market. Proton did however state that they may resume talks about collaborating with other manufacturers at later unspecified dates.
Detroit Electric
On 2 September 2008 Detroit ElectricDetroit Electric
Detroit Electric was an automobile brand produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. Nowadays, a Chinese British entrepreneur is leading Detroit Electric to develop affordable and high quality pure electric vehicles in mainland Europe...
announced plans to progressively roll out affordable electric vehicles worldwide by the end of 2009. Proton cars are to be used and tested in order to validate Detroit Electric's technology and explore the potential to collaborate to create a range of pure electric cars. Detroit Electric has to date integrated its electric drive systems into Proton's Lotus Elise and two Proton passenger cars. Detroit Electric hoped to collaborate with Proton to sell electric cars for the Southeast Asian market or to use Proton's existing manufacturing platform to produce electric cars under the Detroit Electric brand. The company planned to roll out 30,000 electric cars by 2010, as he demonstrated their performance at a Proton test circuit in Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
.
Jianhua Youngman Automobile Manufacturing
Proton MD Syed Zainal says these are landmark win-win agreements as it would enable Proton to sell its products and commercialise its technologies in China through Youngman for their brand of passenger cars in a huge market with promise of exponential growth. Proton's relationship with Chinese maker Jianhua Youngman Automobile Manufacturing - which includes the supply of Proton vehicles for rebadging and sale in China - is on track, according to reports starting early 2009. Malaysia's Edge newspaper said that Proton is estimated to have supplied at least 13,000 units of its GEN 2 cars to China's Jianhua Youngman Automobile Manufacturing Co Ltd since the end of 2007. The cars are rebadged and sold under the Europestar brand in the country.OSK Research Sdn Bhd's analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman said this was based on the information given by the national carmaker, adding that on the higher end of the scale it could have supplied up to 17,000 cars. "Based on the agreement between the two that a minimum 30,000 cars will be supplied over two years, Proton appears to be on track." he told the newspaper.
Youngman is assembling Lotus and Europestar branded cars in Guangdong for the Domestic Chinese and export market. The units receive a Chinese independent brand to differentiate itself from the English sports car models. The Chinese part of the Lotus Cars is better known under the name Youngman Lotus. Youngman Europestar launched a new car at Auto China 2010, engineered by Lotus for the Chinese company. The previously launched RCR (GEN2) and Jingyue (Persona) have been renamed the Lotus L3 5-door and 4-door respectively, while this new model has been christened the “Europestar Lotus L5″. The Youngman L5 is based on a Proton GEN2 platform with a lengthened wheelbase of 2,670mm which is 70mm longer than the original GEN2 wheelbase.
In Proton’s announcement in Bursa Malaysia, it stated that the relationship of Proton and Youngman is one of independent contracting parties and shall not be construed as creating an agency or partnership between the parties.
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
The Board of Directors of PROTON Holdings Berhad wishes to announce that the Company has on 1 March 2011 signed a MOU with Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. The MOU will pave the way for feasibility studies to be conducted on specific areas of cooperation between the Parties including the potential use of Nissan's platform and powertrain. The duration of the feasibility studies will commence from the date of the signing of the MOU and end on 30 April 2011.Lotus
In 1996, Proton acquired a 63.75% share in Lotus Group International LimitedLotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
for £40,640,000.This was later increased to 100% in 2003. A later PriceWaterhouse Coopers audit would find that the CEO, Yahaya Ahmad, had inked the agreement on 16 October 1996. The agreement was presented to the board for approval on 27 November 1996. As part of the purchase agreement (signed prior to board agreement), there were restrictions placed on Proton's ownership of Lotus. One of the restrictions was a prohibition on diluting ACBN's remaining shareholding for a period of five years. This restricted Proton in its operation of the Lotus business and required Proton to guarantee a £40 million loan in 2000.
MV Agusta
In December 2005, Proton purchased a majority share in MV AgustaMV Agusta
MV Agusta is a motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy. The company began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company formed by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923. The Count died in 1927, leaving the company in the hands of his wife and sons, Domenico, Vincenzo,...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
at 70 million Euro. MV Agusta was the manufacturer of MV Agusta, Husqvarna
Husqvarna Motorcycles
Husqvarna Motorcycles, a subsidiary of BMW, is a company manufacturing motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. The company began producing motorcycles in 1903 at Huskvarna, Sweden, as a branch of the Husqvarna armament firm which had supplied the Swedish army with rifles since 1689.-History:As...
, and Cagiva
Cagiva
Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, originally producing small metal components. It went into the motorcycle industry in 1978. The name is a portmanteau derived from the founder and the founding location, i.e. CAstiglioni GIovanni...
motorcycles. A year later, Proton sold off its 57.7% share in MV Agusta to Italy's GEVI Spa for a token of 1 Euro. Due to heavy debt by MV Agusta, the selling enabled Proton to write off the losses off its book, but the buyer would assume the €107 million ($174 million) debt. In August 2007, GEVI SpA the company that bought over MV Agusta for 1 Euro sold the brand Husqvarna and its factory to BMW for a reported 93 million Euros leading to speculations by the Malaysian public of bad management of the company's board of directors resulting in further loss of reputation for the company.
Formula One
Proton-backed Lotus F1 was granted entry into F1 following the departure of BMW Sauber in 2009. This move saw the return of Lotus to Formula One following a 15-year absence. The team raced under the full name Lotus F1 Racing, not Team LotusTeam Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
which was the historic name of all previous Lotus F1 teams. When Lotus returned to F1, Mike Gascoyne
Mike Gascoyne
Michael "Mike" Gascoyne is a designer of Formula One cars. He is currently the Chief Technical Officer of Team Lotus....
was appointed as technical director, and Tony Fernandes
Tony Fernandes
Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes CBE is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly"...
was appointed as team principal. However, Tony Fernandes announced that he would step down at the start of the 2010 season, so Riad Asmat
Riad Asmat
Riad Asmat is the CEO of Caterham F1 Team and Team Principal of GP2 Caterham Team AirAsia. He is the son of Perodua Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Asmat Kamaludin...
was appointed as his replacement.
On the eve of the High Court hearing in March 2011, David Hunt claimed that Tony Fernandes had refused to honour his contractual obligations in purchasing the Team Lotus name and was attempting to renegotiate the contract with terms that Hunt described as "ludicrous".[46] Hunt issued an ultimatum, stating that if Fernandes did not honour the original contract, then Hunt would not support him in his case against Group Lotus, which he claimed had "[some] potentially serious holes".[46] Team Lotus went into the 2011 Australian Grand Prix with David Hunt's support in their case against Group Lotus having made a U-turn on his previous criticisms of Fernandes and the team.[47] On 27 May 2011, the High Court ruled that the team would be able to continue using the Lotus name in Formula One and confirmed Fernandes as the owner of the Team Lotus name having bought the rights to the name from Hunt; they also have the right to call their cars "Lotus", under the terms of a 1985 agreement between Group Lotus and Team Lotus. It also ruled Group Lotus cannot enter Formula One using the name Lotus for a team name, but Team Lotus was told to pay damages after they were found to be in breach of the licensing agreement made with Group Lotus.[48]
For 2011, the Lotus Renault GP cars will race in a new interpretation of the iconic black and gold colours that were last used when Lotus and Renault joined forces in the 1980s. This livery, which has been on the drawing board for over two months in order to reinterpret its iconic graphic signature to suit modern media requirements, is sure to strike a powerful chord with the sport’s enthusiasts around the world. Genii Capital and Group Lotus plc announced the creation of Lotus Renault GP, the successor to the Renault F1 Team that will contest the 2011 FIA Formula One™ World Championship on 1 January 2011. This exciting announcement is made in the context of a strategic alliance between the two companies that will provide Group Lotus with significant technological and commercial opportunities for its range of road cars. The new partnership has been enabled by Renault selling its remaining shares in the team to Genii Capital. Group Lotus plc will subsequently become a major equity partner in Lotus Renault GP, which it will co-own with Genii Capital. Renault will continue its strong support of the team with which it won the 2005 and 2006 world championships, as a supplier of engines and technological and engineering expertise. Reflecting this technological support, Lotus Renault GP will continue to compete with the Renault chassis name and Renault will enjoy pre-eminent brand exposure on the livery.
Following the return of the Lotus name to F1 in 2010, under licence from Group Lotus, this historic announcement marks the complete return of the Lotus manufacturer to the sport, with the full backing of its parent company Proton. Group Lotus plc will become a major equity partner of Genii Capital in Lotus Renault GP, and the two parties have concluded a title sponsorship agreement that will run until the end of the 2017 season. With the continued support of Renault as a supplier of engines and technological and engineering expertise, Lotus Renault GP enjoys a strong, stable platform for future success.
Participating in the GP3 Series, Lotus-Art showcases the competencies of young driving talent.
The series is designed to harness young driver’s raw competencies and offer a proving ground in which drivers can grow their craftsmanship. Lotus & ART have joined forces in 2011 to compete in the FIA GP2 Championship, widely regarded as the principal proving ground for future F1 Drivers. KV - Racing Technology Lotus enters its 2nd season as partners and will contest this years Championship with 3 cars, driven by multi-race winner Tony Kanaan, ex-F1 Driver Takuma Sato and EJ Viso. The 2011 Indycar series is the 100th season of America's premier category of Open Wheel Racing. The series blue ribbon event was the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 in May, the single largest sporting event in the World.
Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Proton entered to Intercontinental Rally Challenge 20092009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season
The 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season was the fourth season of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The season consists of twelve rounds and began on January 21, with the 77° Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo. The season ended on November 21, at the inaugural RAC Rally of Scotland...
with Proton Satria Neo Super 2000
S2000
S2000 may refer to :* Honda S2000, a 1999-2009 Japanese roadster* Peugeot 207 S2000, a rally Peugeot 207 concept car* Super 2000, a racing car classification...
. Their best result in IRC is Alister McRae
Alister McRae
Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...
finish 2nd place at 2009 Rally Scotland
2009 Rally Scotland
The 2009 Rally Scotland, 1st Rally Scotland was the 11th and final round of the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The event was held between 19–21 November during some of the wettest weather seen in the UK. The rally was officially started at the historic site of Scone Palace on Thursday 19th...
. Drivers in 2009 were Karamjit Singh
Karamjit Singh
Karamjit Singh , also known as the Flying Sikh, is a Malaysian professional race driver in rallying, and was the first Asian driver to win the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile Production Car World Championship for Drivers, doing so on his first try. He has been rallying professionally...
, Guy Wilks
Guy Wilks
Guy Wilks is a British rally driver. Wilks started rallying at the age of 19 and currently drives for Škoda UK in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge...
, Bryan Bouffier
Bryan Bouffier
Bryan Bouffier is French rally driver. Currently competing in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, he won the 2011 Monte Carlo Rally.-Career:...
and Alister McRae
Alister McRae
Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...
scoring 13 points. In 2010
2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season
The 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge was the fifth season of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The season consisted of twelve rounds and started on 19 January with the 78° Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo...
Proton team had many retirements and did not score a single point. Drivers for 2010 were Alister McRae
Alister McRae
Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...
, Chris Atkinson
Chris Atkinson
Chris Atkinson in Bega, New South Wales, Australia) is a professional rally driver. In the WRC , he drove for the Subaru World Rally Team from 2004-2008. His best finish on an individual WRC event is second, which he achieved at the 2008 Rally México and Rally Argentina...
, Niall McShea
Niall McShea
Niall McShea is an Irish rally driver. He won the Production World Rally Championship in 2004 in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI...
, Keith Cronin
Keith Cronin
Keith Cronin is an Irish rally driver. He won the 2009 British Rally Championship, in his first year in the series, defeating multiple champion Mark Higgins in his privately entered Cronin Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9. Cronin successfully defended his title in 2010 driving a Subaru...
, Gilles Panizzi
Gilles Panizzi
Gilles Panizzi is a French rally driver on the World Rally Championship circuit.Gilles was born in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes...
and privateer with factory support, Tom Cave
Tom Cave
Thomas Cave is a rally driver from Aberdyfi in Wales. He is the son of club rally driver Peter Cave and his ambition is to become the next British champion in the FIA World Rally Championship...
. Best result of 2010 season was 22nd place of Gilles Panizzi at 2010 Rallye Sanremo
2010 Rallye Sanremo
The 2010 Rallye Sanremo , was the 10th round of the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season and was also an round of the Italian Rally Championship. The eleven stage asphalt rally took place on 23 – 25 September 2010. The longest stage of the rally, Ronde, was run in darkness...
, although it was the only finish of Proton Satria Neo S2000 in this season.
Two of the cars were also used in a rally challenge between the hosts of Top Gear UK (Series 16, Episode 03) and Top Gear Australia
Top Gear Australia
Top Gear Australia was an Australian motoring television series based on the BBC series Top Gear.The show premiered on SBS One on 29 September 2008 at 7:30 pm AEST, with its first season consisting of 8 episodes...
(The Ashes Special). The Stig
The Stig
The Stig is a character in the British motoring television show Top Gear. The character plays on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who, or indeed what, is inside the character's racing suit. The character was the creation of presenter Jeremy...
(UK) and Steve Pizzati
Steve Pizzati
Steve Pizzati is an Australian race driver, driving instructor, television presenter and free-lance motoring journalist.He was born in Melbourne to Italian parents; he did not learn to speak English until he was four years old....
(Australia) drove the two cars while Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
(UK) and Ewen Page
Ewen Page
Ewen Page is editor-in-chief of Top Gear Australia magazine and the website. Page has a media career spanning 28 years and has edited a variety of Australian car magazines, from Street Machine to Wheels, Motor and Auto Action. He has a passion for all things with wheels...
(Australia) guided the respective drivers across a rally track.
Charges of protectionism
When the first Proton appeared on Malaysian roads in 1985, local wits promptly dubbed the Proton Saga as the 'Potong Harga', meaning the 'cut-price'. And for good reason as the Proton was at least 20% cheaper than non-national makes in the same 1.3 to 1.5 litre class. With both the low price and a dash of national pride working for it, the Proton got a rapid hold on the market. By 1988 the Proton, with a model lineup of one, had overtaken all other makes and models and grabbed 73% of the Malaysian passenger car market.In 1983, when the 'national car' was planned, Malaysia had an annual new car market of about 90,000 units, and the market was growing annually by 20%. The Proton plant was designed to produce 80,000 units a year and could be geared up to 120,000 units. But in Proton's first full year of production (1986), total car sales took a severe dip to 47,000 and next year, due to a worsening economic situation, just 35,000. Only in 1988 did the market begin a recovery to 54,000 units, by now most of them Protons. Since then, the market has grown steadily to a 2005 peak of 417,000 cars
Government policy has kept the Proton cheaper than other makes by the simple strategy of taxing the competition, while giving Proton exemptions or rebates from these same taxes. Duties on packages of parts for assembly into complete cars in Malaysia is said to average about 30%. Proton is exempted from most of these
On 1 January 2008, the postponed-several-times full implementation of an ASEAN Free Trade Agreement which Malaysia originally signed on to in January 1992, was to finally have come into effect. The agreement would effectively bar practices that discriminate against goods (including vehicles) that are considered “Made in ASEAN” by the use of Tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
and/or Non-Tariff Barriers
Non-tariff barriers to trade
Non-tariff barriers to trade are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff. Some common examples of NTB's are anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties, which, although they are called "non-tariff" barriers, have the effect of tariffs once they are...
. This would practically eliminate most of the price advantage, achieved by way of the 50% rebate Proton (and other “Malaysian-made” cars) enjoy on a hefty (75 to 105%) engine-capacity-related Excise Duty applied to new cars sold in Malaysia.
This rebate is largely responsible for non-Malaysia ASEAN-made cars costing between 30 and 60 % more than an equivalent Malaysian-made vehicle. With a “level playing field”, within the confines of CEPT (which till end 2009 allows a maximum 5% import duty, reducing to zero in 2010) using existing FOB
Free On Board
FOB is an initialism which pertains to the shipping of goods. Depending on specific usage, it may stand for Free On Board or Freight On Board. FOB specifies which party pays for which shipment and loading costs, and/or where responsibility for the goods is transferred...
prices, an ASEAN (Thai-made) Honda or Toyota would sell for within 10% of a comparable Proton, and would probably result in the devastation of Proton's market share and the company. As it appears that this would be an unacceptable consequence to the Malaysian government, for the time being, local car manufacturers will be allowed to continue receiving the excise duty rebate, with the Malaysian Government picking up the tab for probable penalties it will have to pay to ASEAN members for violating established free-trade regulations.
As 2008 progressed, it became apparent that more and more global manufacturers reasoned that the level playing field stipulated by CEPT will continue to be ignored by the Malaysian government for as long as possible. This temporarily derailed these manufacturers' previous plans to use Thailand (principally) as their ASEAN manufacturing hub, and forced them to reintroduce Malaysian-assembly of some models from CKD. This move allowed these foreign marques to benefit from better tariff structures applied to such vehicles, in an effort to remain competitive (in the non-National car segment), and to narrow the price difference between their models and equivalent (Excise Duty rebated) Malaysian-made cars.
The very latest update to the Malaysian Automotive Policy framework (October 2009) fails to mention any change in this discriminatory rebate policy, thereby reinforcing the suspicion that the Government will not abide by stipulated "level playing field" requirements for the foreseeable future. It should be noted that the main “solution” being pushed by the Malaysian Government to maintain the pricing advantage of locally made cars, by providing grants and subsidies (to counteract any potential removal of the excise Duty rebate) would also be deemed to be non-compliant with the Trade Agreement, contravening Non-tariff barriers to trade
Non-tariff barriers to trade
Non-tariff barriers to trade are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff. Some common examples of NTB's are anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties, which, although they are called "non-tariff" barriers, have the effect of tariffs once they are...
requirements.
The lack of direct competition at Proton models' price points (in Malaysia) has also allowed Proton, for many years, to continue selling very outdated designs, generally with scant regards to providing basic safety equipment such as airbags and anti-lock braking in domestic models. Additionally, J.D. Power survey results have consistently shown that Protons have poorer rankings in initial quality than the available competition
Improvement in sales
In 2006, Proton's sales dropped 30.4% from 166,118 in 2005 to 115,538 for the Malaysian market, with a later report indicating a 55% fall of sales to 962.3 million ringgit, its lowest in at least seven years. This allowed PeroduaPerodua
The ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...
to overtake Proton as the country's largest passenger carmaker for the first time, with a 41.6% market share, while Proton's market share fell from 40% in 2005 to 32% in 2006. In the period ending December 31, 2006, Proton has also suffered three consecutive quarterly losses. Compared to a profit of 86.5 million ringgit in 2005, the car company lost 281.5 million ringgit in 2006. Proton blamed discounts from rivals. Total losses in 2007s financial year climbed to $169 million.
The Employees Provident Fund
Employees Provident Fund
The Employees Provident Fund also known Malay as Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja is a Malaysian government agency under the Ministry of Finance. It manages the compulsory savings plan and retirement planning for legally employed workers in Malaysia...
(EPF) acquired an additional 830,000 shares in a transaction that spanned between January 5 and January 12, 2007. This mean all Malaysian are shareholder of the national car maker.
As compared to Proton, Perodua
Perodua
The ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...
has been quite successful in its business ventures. Its cars are very popular among Malaysians, such as the Perodua Myvi
Perodua MyVi
The Perodua Myvi is a supermini/subcompact hatchback manufactured by Malaysian car maker Perodua since 2005. Based on the second generation Daihatsu Sirion/Boon and Toyota Passo, the Myvi is the result of Perodua's collaboration with both Toyota and Daihatsu...
, which sold 80,327 units in 2006, outselling its rivals best selling car, the Proton Wira
Proton Wira
The Proton Wira was a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton, released as a four-door saloon and four-door hatchback beginning 1993. The Wira was intended as a newer alternative to the Proton Saga Iswara, a facelifted version of Proton's first model, the Proton Saga, as a flagship compact...
then, which only sold 28,886 units in Malaysia. In 2006-2010, Perodua
Perodua
The ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...
became the best selling car company in Malaysia. In the first half 2011, the table has turn upside down where a highlight of the figures was that Proton had overtaken Perodua
Perodua
The ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...
to be the best-selling brand this year. It’s been many years since the first national carmaker has been No.1 and though part of the reason was that Perodua’s supply in the second quarter was limited (due to phasing-out of the old Myvi) and also the problems caused by the amendments to the H-P Act, it has also to be said that Proton’s current line-up is its strongest ever and has drawn many customers, noted the core models Proton Saga
Proton Saga
- Saga :The Proton Saga was launched in September 1985 by Malaysia's then Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Before the production of Proton Saga, a contest was held to choose the name of the first national car, and the name Saga was chosen from the winner of the contest, Ismail Jaafar, a...
and Proton Persona
Proton Persona
The Proton Persona is a compact car introduced by Proton in 2007 for the same model year. Being an in-house design by Azlan Othman, the Persona replaced the saloon variant of the successful Proton Wira, whose export name is not confused with this model's same name, as Proton's compact car.It is...
. Proton delivered 85,223 units to take a 28.7% share of the TIV while Perodua delivered 79,467 units, a difference of 5,756 units.
PROTON Holdings Berhad registered a profit before tax of RM186 million in the first half of its 2010/11 financial year benefitting from the improved market sentiments and conditions which had accounted for a 13% increase in its vehicle sales. The growing demand for Proton vehicles were significantly contributed by three core models; the Saga, Persona and Exora.
Sponsorship
From 2003 to 2006, Proton were the main sponsors of Norwich City F.C.Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
, the English football club
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
. The Lotus brand was advertised on the club's away shirts. From 1999 to 2000 Proton 5x5 was Fenerbahçe's sponsor. Proton Cars Australia already sponsored a rugby team from Australia which is Wests Tigers.
Proton name is also synonymous with Le Tour de Langkawi Cycling Tour since its inception in providing crew fleet of cars. It is the Official Car Provider for Le Tour de Langkawi 2011 which in turn sponsoring a total of 150 unit of cars of various Proton models plus other merchandises to an estimated total value RM600,000. As part of the sponsorship, Proton also providing technical assistance for the maintenance of the sponsored cars and also in the case of breakdowns. For this purpose, Proton dispatching approximately 50 personnels comprising technical experts, drivers for the Cavalcade
Cavalcade
Cavalcade may refer to:*Cavalcade, a horseback procession, parade, or mass trail ride*A huge parade*A huge procession*Suzuki GV1400 Cavalcade, a Suzuki luxury touring motorcycle available from 1985 to 1988 in North America...
Convoy and other representatives of Proton who be on stand-by to provide assistance throughout the event.
See also
- List of Proton car models
- List of car models by country
- Lotus CarsLotus CarsLotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
- Team LotusTeam LotusTeam Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
- PeroduaPeroduaThe ' , usually abbreviated to Perodua , is Malaysia's second largest automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1992 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in August 1994. 'M2’ was refers to the codename which was used when the project to establish Perodua was still Top...