Proton celebrates milestone with five million cars produced in 41 years

PROTON achieved another historic milestone in its 41-year history when it broke through five million units produced barrier.

The record setting vehicle, a Proton X90 Flagship was revealed during a visit to the company headquarters at the Centre Of Excellence (COE) complex by Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Malaysian Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, and Jin Zhuanglong, Chinese Minister of Industry, and Information Technology.

In a statement, Dr Li Chunrong, Chief Executive Officer, Proton said the national automaker was tasked with mobilising Malaysians and establishing a local automotive ecosystem when it was formed in 1983.

“Today, we continue to play a critical role in the nation’s economy. Over 100,000 people earn a living through activities linked to Proton and each of them played a role in driving the company towards this landmark achievement of five million units,” he said.

Since joining forces with the Geely Group in 2017, Proton has launched four all-new models jointly developed with its shareholder, upgraded its locally designed models, and introduced intelligence and connectivity to its entire lineup.

Together with improvements in product quality, investments in after sales and parts management as well as the establishment of a dealer network with the highest number of 3S/4S outlets, these activities have led to five consecutive years of sales growth with a corresponding increase in production.

From the introduction of the Proton X70 on 12 December 2018, more than 217,000 units of the company’s X-series SUVs have been sold thus far to local and export market customers. This makes Proton far and away the overall leader for SUV sales in Malaysia during that time period.

Sales of the Proton Saga meanwhile have surpassed 2 million units, allowing it to keep its position as the most popular Malaysian-made car of all time.

“Just last week, we confirmed e.MAS as the brand name for future Proton EV products and today as we set yet another milestone, the future is ripe with opportunities for PROTON to continue to provide sustainable mobility for Malaysians and our export markets,” added Dr Li.