Proton to Launch First Model Under New Ownership by 2019

The first new Proton vehicle after a 49% investment in the Malaysian automaker by China’s Geely will debut by the end of next year or early in 2019, Second International Trade and Industry Malaysia Minister Ong Ka Chuan says.

Ong says Proton and Geely are upgrading the plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, that will use new manufacturing technology. The plant now has an annual capacity of 150,000 units on two shifts.

Proton’s 150,000-unit Shah Alam plant operation will be relocated there within the next five years. Shah Alam then will be handed back to Proton parent DRB-Hicom.

The Malaysian government’s Bernama news agency quotes Ong as saying Geely will help Proton with technology, assemble its 4-wheel drive model and develop its right-hand drive technology in Malaysia.

Under the agreement between DRB-Hicom and Geely, Proton gets a license to manufacture, sell, market and distribute Geely-platform vehicles under the Proton name in Malaysia for five years.

It also will help Geely enter the Southeast Asian market.

Proton gets to build and distribute Geely’s Boyue SUV, filling a hole in a segment where Proton does not have a presence.

Earlier, Ong said the Proton-Geely alliance aims to sell 280,000 units in China and Southeast Asia.