Proton Malaysia National Car

Proton is the first Malaysian car company to be established in 1985 in line with the eastward -looking policy led by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, namely Dato ‘Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad. Close cooperation between the two countries, namely Japan and Malaysia, has signed several smart partnership agreements. Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s wish to develop a Malaysian national car finally succeeded. And Malaysia’s first national car company, Proton, was created.

New Vehicles from Hyundai Highlights

Proton through its subsidiary, EON (Edaran Otomobil Nasional Berhad) is responsible for vehicle spare parts. The first vehicle known as the Proton Saga was launched on July 9, 1985. Using the Orion engine from the 1.3-liter Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore, the Saga became a symbol of pride for Malaysians in the village and in the city.

The brand was very popular at that time, making Japanese-made vehicles that dominated the roads in Malaysia less popular.

What is Malaysia’s first MPV car?

Malaysia’s first MPV is the Proton Exora, a 7-seater MPV with a 1.6-liter and 1.6-liter turbo engine capacity.

Before Proton?

Before Proton became a symbol of Malaysian national pride, there were several foreign automobile companies that led vehicles in Malaysia. As we recall, the Toyota brand was a very proud brand before the birth of Proton. And before Japanese-made cars such as Toyota, Datsun, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru and others penetrated the Malaysian market, American-made vehicles were very good vehicles and coveted by Malaysians. American-made car brands such as Ford were very dominant in the 70s and 80s era with the presence of models such as the Ford Telstar and Ford Laser.

Many titles are given to some Ford car models such as the Ford Shark or in Malays as Ford Jerung, which is a type of Ford Laser TX3 and TX5 models. At the time, the Ford Shark was highly feared as it came with 1.8-liter and 2.0-liter capacity engines.

Ford Turbo 80s Era in Malaysia

Many are so obsessed with the Ford TX3 and Ford TX5 that they even install turbo engines to add speed and pickup. Some of the Ford Shark TX3 turbo cars can reach up to 180hp and can be upgraded up to 200hp! Can you imagine using a turbo car in the 80s era with speeds of up to 200km/h and 0-100km in less than 8 seconds on Malaysia’s road?

The heyday of Ford vehicles in Malaysia ended in the mid-90s after Japanese-made cars that were more fuel efficient and smaller in size entered the Malaysian market.

While there aren’t many old Ford-made vehicles like the Ford Telstar and Ford Laser Lynx nowadays, as a Ford car owner in the past feel proud to have been in Ford’s glory around the early 90s.

Domination of Japanese-Made Vehicles of the 90s Era

In the 90s era in Malaysia, Japanese-made vehicles began to enter the country rapidly due to the high demand for fuel-efficient vehicles and small size for the use of the city dwellers. At the time, American -made vehicles had large cc engines. Volatile petrol prices at the time due to the gulf war and civil war in several Islamic countries in the Middle East resulted in oil prices becoming unstable and soaring.

The conquest and destruction of Islamic countries was one of the reasons that prompted the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad introduced the ‘Look East Policy’ and opened a wide market for Japanese -made cars to penetrate the Malaysian automobile market.

At that time, many people had converted American -made vehicles to Japanese -made cars because of the low resale value factor and the difficulty of getting genuine spare parts because no dealer was willing to take high -priced spare parts.

Proton dominance

Since the historic launch of the Proton Saga in 1985, the Company has made history by developing several awesome local vehicle models. From the 1.3-liter Saga to the 1.5-liter engine, the company introduced the Proton Wira and was followed by the Saga Aeroback and Wira Aeroback.

To further expand the dominance of national vehicles, the company has introduced another fresh -looking Malaysian national car, the Proton Iswara. The Iswara is a continuation of the once very popular Saga.

Malaysia was shaken by the first SUV, the Proton Kembara. Many young people and those who have just graduated from the University have ambitions to own a Kembara. With an elegant design and sporty style, Kembara is the latest idea of young people who have changed their tastes from hatchback vehicles to SUVs.

Proton's Best Selling Car Model

Since the country’s pride model, the Saga, the company has introduced other models such as the Wira (1.3l and 1.5l sedan and Aeroback versions), the then very fast 1.8-liter Wira and the SUV Kembara.

Next, the compamy introduced the Proton Waja which is a mid -class sedan for executives and managers and a high -end model the Proton Perdana for big bosses and senior executives.

Malaysia Digit Tips: Did you know that the company introduced the Proton Limousine which is longer than the regular sedan with premium features for the use of statesmen and ministers?

National Official Car

Proton vehicles have become official government car including government agencies such as the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM). The vehicles of the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers also use the Proton Perdana. Many official events use the National car brand and until now, the brand is still the official vehicle of the Malaysian government.

Malaysia Digit Tips: Did you know, Proton’s great success in producing Malaysia’s national car and the high response from Malaysians to buy Malaysian -made cars, the company is not looking back. The company needs proper recognition. Good prospects in Supercar and turbo engine R&D, Proton has bought Lotus, a British automobile company. Many technologies such as steering technology and turbo engines have been installed in cars such as the Waja and Preve.

Malaysia’s First National MPV

In 2010, Proton Malaysia took a step forward by introducing the country’s first multi -purpose vehicle (MPV), the Exora. Initially the first release Proton Exora was equipped with a 1.6-liter engine only. But because the Exora engine is said to be underpowered, the company launched a more powerful engine that is 1.6-liter turbo.

The Proton Now

Much to the chagrin of substandard vehicles, expensive and substandard genuine parts as well as dumping of counterfeit spare parts, Proton suffers a series of losses every financial year.

Finally, to breathe new life into the company continues to suffer loss after loss, in 2017, the company finally signed an agreement with a Chinese automobile company Geely Auto to acquire 49.9% of the company’s equity from DRB Hicom.

What is the first SUV Turbo model by Proton Malaysia?

The first model of the SUV Turbo category released by the national automotive company is the Proton X70 equipped with many great features such as a 1.8-liter turbo engine, dual zone air conditioning, 360 degree camera, lane assist, steering mode selections (loose, medium or tight grip), air -conditioned seats and a DCT transmission system. Very impressive indeed!

Latest Model Proton X70

The partnership between Proton and Geely Auto, a Chinese carmaker, has yielding good result. The first vehicle introduced on the joint venture between the two companies is the X70, a very popular SUV vehicle in China, the Geely Boyue.

Having a 1.8-liter turbo petrol engine capacity equipped with a double wet clutch transmission system makes the Proton brand more reliable. The proof you can see on the streets in Malaysia, many Malaysians are switching to X70 even in the pandemic state of Corona virus Covid-19. Sales of X70 in the country under the Movement Control Order or PKP (Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan) did not bother the public to own it and even got the highest sales figure in Malaysia in 2020.

Proton X50

The success of the X70 gained such a proud sales figure, Proton and Geely have released another great SUV machine, the X50. This time the X50 is smaller than the X70 with a 1.5-liter turbocharged 177ps engine and 255nM torque.

Let’s follow the second Malaysian automotive company, Perodua, in the next entry.

*source: https://www.proton.com

*source: wikipedia

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