Proton Holdings

The first Proton Saga to roll off the production line in Shah Alam is preserved in the National Museum (Malay: Muzium Negara) as a symbol of the beginning of the Malaysian automotive industry.

Sales of the new Saga outstripped supply, and Proton struggled to meet the growing demand, but by mid-1986, it had captured a 64% majority domestic market share in the below 1600cc segment.

[35] The Exora was based on Proton's next generation P2 platform and helped satisfy the growing demand for a budget 7-seater in the domestic market, which had been monopolised by the Nissan Grand Livina and the smaller Toyota Avanza.

[49] The new Perdana is a badge engineered eighth generation Honda Accord and is for exclusive sale to Malaysian civil servants and government officials.

[55] This culminated with the entry of China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in June 2017, after the Chinese carmaker acquired 49.9% equity in Proton from DRB-HICOM.

[68] Following the signing of a Definitive Agreement with China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Limited on 23 June 2017,[69] the Chinese carmaker acquired 49.9% equity in Proton.

DRB-HICOM are represented by Dato' Sri Syed Faisal Albar, who chairs the boards, and Amalanathan Thomas and Shaharul Farez Hassan.

[73] On 23 August 2024, Proton announced that they are partnering with NSA Motors Limited in Trinidad and Tobago since March 2024 to market and retail their vehicles in the country.

[76][77] Current model line up, with calendar year of introduction or most recent facelift:[78] Former model line up, with calendar year of introduction or most recent facelift: The Proton logo in 1983 was a dark blue shield which encompassed a yellow crescent positioned below a yellow fourteen-pointed star, in reference to the Malaysian flag and coat of arms.

[81] As of 2024, Proton has an overseas presence in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Brunei, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique,[82] Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe.

[98] In March 2013, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Malaysia) announced that vehicles manufactured in Australia and Japan will face a gradual reduction of import duties in stages to zero by 2016.

[132] Furthermore, 80% of the surveyed Consumers' Association members said they would recommend Proton cars to friends and family, compared to 90% for Subaru, 79% for Toyota, 78% for Honda and Mitsubishi, 63% for Hyundai and 47% for Rover respectively.

[133] Proton cars were once popular in Singapore, at one time the company's second-largest export destination despite its relatively small market size.

[135] Kuwait was once a top Middle Eastern export destination for Proton cars in the late 90s and early 2000s, with an average market share of 8% or 1,000 units sold each year, ten times greater than any other Gulf Cooperation Council state.

[136] The Kuwaiti dealer, Bahrah Trading Company had focused on the niche fleet market, selling Proton Wiras to fast food delivery services and taxi operators.

[142] In July 2015, Proton signed a distributor agreement with Andes Motor, and the first official shipment of 50 left-hand drive Prevé units commenced on 1 March 2016.

[157] On 13 November 2024, Proton announced the opening of a CKD plant in Egypt owned by Ezz Elarab Elsewedy Automotive Factories (ESAF), the third one overseas after Kenya and Pakistan.

[51] The engines will feature more advanced technology such as direct injection, cylinder deactivation and stop-start idling, and will meet the highest Euro 6c emissions regulations.

[165] With the LG ADAS implementation, new autonomous safety features like Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Cross Traffic Assist (CTA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) and High Beam Assist (HBA) can be incorporated into Proton's future offerings.

[167][168] There are allegations that President Jokowi Widodo is appointing Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono as the representative of PT Adiperkasa Citra Lestari, who was known to be associated with ex-President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

[169] According to Steven Xu of Proton's International Sales, the company is still in the process of establishing more distributors to increase its presence in Indonesia as of 10 April 2019.

[173] The company announced on 16 June 2021 that its Indonesian and Thai operations will resume in the near future with plans to be the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the ASEAN region.

[179] Mitsubishi Motors, Japan's sole unprofitable carmaker of that period sold its 7.93% Proton stake earlier in March 2004 in an effort to reduce its ¥1.14 trillion (US$11 billion) debt.

[180] Proton's then CEO, Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad also advocated an alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroën for the purpose of technology transfer.

[184] The Gen-2 and Persona were known as the RCR (short for RaCeR or Racing) and Jing Yue between 2007 and late 2009, but both cars were facelifted and renamed as the L3 5-door and L3 4-door (or L3 Sedan) for the 2010 model year respectively.

[201] With the incoming sales and tax exemption plans for EVs coming in by 2022, Proton announced a roadmap of hybrid, PHEV and BEV products for the future.

[212] Despite facing technical problems and stiff competition from the superior Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru Impreza rally cars, Proton drivers McRae and Atkinson placed 3rd and 5th respectively in the 2010 APRC season.

Drivers for 2010 were Alister McRae, Chris Atkinson, Niall McShea, Keith Cronin, Gilles Panizzi and privateer with factory support, Tom Cave.

The team in the 2002 and 2003 BTCC seasons was headed by Scottish and English drivers David Leslie and Phil Bennett respectively in two heavily modified BTC-T Proton Impian touring cars.

The Proton Persona NGTC returns in the hands of Daniel Welch, whereas the second car is a Super 2000 Mk 2 Ford Focus driven by David Nye.

The first generation Proton Saga . More than 1.2 million units were sold between 1985 and 2008. [ 6 ]
The Proton Saga Iswara saloon, widely used as Malaysian taxis in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Proton Wira saloon. Over 952,216 units were sold in around 65 countries worldwide. [ 10 ]
The Proton Satria GTi , widely regarded as the best Proton car ever produced.
The first generation Proton Perdana , then the company's most premium offering.
The second generation Proton Persona , the successor to the Proton Wira saloon.
The Proton Satria Neo .
The Proton Exora , the company's first 7-seat MPV.
The Proton Prevé , the first 5-star ANCAP safety rated car from Malaysia.
The Proton Suprima S .
The Proton Iriz .
The third generation Proton Persona .
Proton's sales grew at a stable rate in the first decade, but plunged in 1998 due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis . Nonetheless, Proton bounced back and recorded its highest sales volume in 2002 at 214,373 units. Sales gradually decreased in the following five years due to cheaper and more competitive offerings from Perodua . Proton's sales have recovered slightly since 2008, but their market share is in a current state of decline. Proton has sold over 3,500,000 cars in Malaysia between 1985 and 2013.
A comparison of Proton & Perodua sales in the domestic market. Perodua, which started out in 1994 as a complement and not a competitor to Proton has overtaken the latter to become Malaysia's best selling car manufacturer. Perodua cars manage to sell in greater numbers due to their cheaper pricing range, in which there are few competitors, as well as their inheritance of generally better designs from their parent company, Toyota .
Proton cars were first exported to the United Kingdom in 1989, and later Australia in 1995. British Proton sales peaked at 14,957 units in 1992, above rivals such as Hyundai (9,337), Kia (3,519), Škoda (9,365), SEAT (8,198), Lada (11,907) and even Mitsubishi (11,077). [ 141 ] Proton's best performance in Australia was in 1998, with 3,182 units sold. Since the late 90s, sales in the U.K have decreased significantly.
The Proton Iriz may receive a new 1.3-litre turbo, 6MT option in the near future. [ 159 ] A fully electric Iriz EV was also studied. [ 160 ]
The Proton Inspira , the last of the Mitsubishi-based Protons.
The Proton Tiara .
2014 Youngman Lotus L3 GT 5-door, a rebadged Proton Gen-2 .
The Proton Perdana (CP) , based on the eighth generation Honda Accord .
The Proton Ertiga.
Proton PERT with veteran Malaysian rally driver Karamjit Singh .
Alister McRae in his Proton Satria Neo S2000 at Rally Hokkaido during the 2010 APRC season .
2011 Proton Satria Neo CUSCO Edition in Japan.
The BTC-T Proton Impian of Team Petronas Syntium Proton at Knockhill Circuit , Scotland.
Daniel Welch 's NGTC Proton Persona at the 2013 BTCC Snetterton GP , England.