Malaysian Automaker Proton Returns to Chilean Market

Malaysian automaker Proton is returning to the Chile market after a 16-year absence.

It says 50 units of left-hand-drive Proton Prevés are being shipped to San Antonio, Chile, representing the first of 1,000 units Proton expects to sell in the South American country this year.

The Malaysian-built cars will be sold by Andes Motor, a subsidiary of the Chilean distributor Kaufmann Group, which signed a distributor agreement with Proton last July.

CEO Abdul Harith Abdullah says Proton’s plan to return to Chile originated with the signing of the Malaysia-Chile Free Trade Agreement in February 2012.

“Proton enjoys a 6% exemption of import duty and we are thankful to the Malaysian government for this trade initiative,” Harith says in a statement. “This gave us the opportunity to identify a viable marketplace for the entry of a left-hand-drive market for our cars.”

Along with the Prevé, Proton will ship its Exora and Saga models to be marketed in the main cities of Santiago, Concepcion Vina La Serena, Antofagasta and Valdivia Temuco Osorno.

“We are excited to re-enter the Chilean market after we sold almost 3,000 units of cars back then, from 1994 to 1998,” Harith says. “Now we have a new partner, who is a leading distributor of buses, trucks and luxury cars, with a vast network to provide proven sales and aftersales services.”

Proton sees Chile’s population of 17.6 million and a total industry volume of about 330,000 cars as a golden opportunity in its efforts to increase production volume and expand its sales and market presence.

“We are positive that this is the beginning of many more opportunities to go global, especially after we complete our current new engine program for us to meet the more stringent regulations of European countries,” Harith says.

The Prevé and Exora launch in May, followed by the Saga in November.

All models to be offered in Chile have 1.6L engines. They are the Prevé Standard MT, Prevé Executive MT and Prevé Premium CVT, Exora Standard CVT, Exora Premium CVT, Saga FLX Standard MT and Saga FLX Premium MT.