According to a report by Automotive World, CKD assembly of the Europestar Lotus RCR at Youngman’s plant in Jinan, China is set to begin in August 2008 this year. The Europestar RCR is a badge engineered left hand drive pre-facelift version of the Proton GEN2 we have here on our local shores. A total of 150,000 CKD kits have been ordered for the next 6 years – which is about 25,000 units a year.
The Europestar RCR was initially launched by Youngman in early January this year, and sales began with a batch of 30,000 CBU imported units of the left-hand drive car from Proton’s plant in Malaysia. Before launch date, the car had already received 1,500 bookings. The RCR is being pushed in China by an initial appointment of 40 dealers which will provide a sales, service and spare parts network.
Here’s something interesting: the rebadging deal includes royalty payments for legal usage of the Proton GEN2 design. So legally, Youngman – the company behind the Europestar brand – holds the rights for the Proton GEN2 designs in China.
If another Chinese company decides to rip the GEN2 off, it won’t be Proton against a Chinese company in the Chinese courts. It will be a Chinese company against another Chinese company, which could lead to more favorable results than the precedents we have seen previously where a Chinese company who has ripped off a Japanese or western design can get away with it easily.
There will be more cars from Europestar in the Chinese market in the future. While there will likely continue to be some form of platform and parts sharing with Proton, future Europestars will be engineered by Lotus engineering consultants and will be be much further differentiated from the Protons it may share parts with – something like how a Seat Ibiza is a Volkswagen Polo but does not look like one.
Picture above snapped in China courtesy of Astley Ho, find more photos after the jump.
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
I see a Gen-2 with “Lotus” all over it.
“Here’s something interesting: the rebadging deal includes royalty payments for legal usage of the Proton GEN2 design. So legally, Youngman – the company behind the Europestar brand – holds the rights for the Proton GEN2 designs in China.”
Paul, i think you have the wrong concept here. Even if youngman pays royalty to Proton, the GEN2 design rights would still be Proton’s even in china. Youngman is only paying proton to “borrow” the design. The rights would only be youngman’s if they actually buyoff the GEN2 design outright from proton.
Paul Tan says: The thing is – any company which pays for the rights to use a certain design in a country will definitely defend those rights (since they paid for it!) if another company rips it off.
Ermm..seems like YoungMan forgot to change the cover of the engine…hehe..
At least Proton is more sincere on technology transfer, rather than Mitsubishi and Citroen…
dual airbag?
btw, is that a campro engine cover with a proton logo on it (as mentioned by Alifz)? and the Eurpstar logo on the steering wheel really looks bad.. other than that, what to say? it’s a gen-2… ahh… how about the pricing Paul??
LOL.. y is there a proton logo on campro engine. And it has a strut bar somemore……… just to prove its from lotus… lol. Funniest thing i see whole day
these guys are nuts. they take our Malaysian things and don’t let anyone know that its ours. besides the engine cover. the steering wheel logo sucks.
Maybe in distant future you will find ignorant china tourist in Malaysia saying we copied their RCR
How many % royalty does proton get from each car sale in China?
I also see what looks like a Kembara in the background of the first picture. Or is it some Daihatsu whatever?
LOL they forgot to remove the engine covers or what? CAn c different logo than the other one.. They must be curious
Why can’t we get the Lotus Engineer logo paste it in out Gen II cars? It looks great. The logo of the Europestar was not that bad either.
Why can’t proton come redesign their logo with the one China has? One quick look, ppl will think that it’s a Europe car.
hi mokkf82,
Proton needs to create it’s own identity, not to attract potential by deceiving ppl’s eyes. The current proton logo has it’s own theme and vision. Proton can be better if more funding for research and development but first and foremost, the company has to restore it’s creditability since making losses in previous years.
why ‘europestar rcr ckd’?
why not ‘proton gen2 china’?
i think when tourist from china came to malaysia, they think that malaysian steal china, but its other way around…….
rsrulz said,
May 15, 2008 @ 7:23 pm
these guys are nuts. they take our Malaysian things and don’t let anyone know that its ours. besides the engine cover.
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We also what… Just look at Naza, or Inokom, batched from Kia, Hyundai and so on…..
the stickers at ther rear hatch cheapens “Lotus” branding….
youngman already commissioned proton (which then commissioned LEM) to design 4 car models for China market. Each models will be marketed differently (probably for four regions in China; north, south, east and west).
So that’s where all the non-IAFM/CPS engines went …
The fact is Youngman marketed Gen.2 as Lotus and not Proton. They will feel the pain if they try the car, need press hard to get power and fuel consuming.
Anyway our Naza also rebadge China made car la. So don’t think they are stupid, we also not so smart afterall. Hafei Lobo into Naza Sutera/Forza
please redesign your logo!!!
richx said,
May 16, 2008 @ 12:37 am
So that’s where all the non-IAFM/CPS engines went …
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Probably, but I do wish that we sold them the CPS engines instead, that would have created a better ’1st impression’ on Proton engines.
is the picture snap in china??
i can see perodua kembara there…
Just send all of those kits to China just like what they did to the Wira. Sent it to Indonesia. The Noh Omar statements make me think, why is it Proton have to develop a new taxi design while Indonesia just take our Wiras as their taxi and assembled it in Chikarang plant. For the royalty matter, i guess it is a coincidence the deal will favour Proton and Lotus. Maybe Savvy after this. Just defunct these 2 models in Malaysia; Gen-2 and Savvy due to its low volume sold and CKDed it in other country with higher volume of demand.
what a big Lotus badge at the rear, since when did Chapman’s company make cheap, slow, overweight and poor quality cars fro the masses?
Since Proton own Lotus, they can do whatever they want with the brits company. Afterall, Youngman pay for the logo. Business wise its better to manipulate and maximise the power of the brand as long as its profits back to proton.
Well… the logo is not bad laa….
Much better than the “Thundercat” logo.
Luckily they choose the “Thundercat” logo, if the choose the Autobots logo then sxxt!!
It will be “Copycat” rather than “Thundercat”….
The logo on steering wheel looks so awful *tepuk dahi*
waimak said,
May 16, 2008 @ 9:45 am
The logo on steering wheel looks so awful *tepuk dahi
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no problem, i think they r used to see such an awful design everyday, made in china, of course..
If you have volume, anything we can manufacture and do for you.
This is the real volume games.
yeah, since proton own Lotus, proton can put the chap “Lotus” anywhere, like
Lotus tuned chassis
Lotus inspired aircond vent
Lotus style meter cluster
Lotus paste mooncake
Lotus seed kuachi.
Malu la….
BW said that we also take other countries cars like kia and hyundai. if you look at NAZA cars, they say LICENSED BY KIA
What I don’t understand is why can’t they call it Proton. We call chery, which is from China, its original name. We don’t change anything.
when it comes to the NAZA sutera and forza, we change the design a bit. not laeve it the same as these people did to our Gen2. if some China tourist tells me that we copied their RCR design, I’ll slap them.
even toyota sells cars in australia rebadged totally as holden.
so whats the problem with that? its a business and marketing decision. Youngman is a china company, led by a very successful chairman in his own right. Who are we to say, sitting here in our chairs behind our keyboards, how best to market and sell cars in china??
i personally think its a great idea. proton is unknown in china. better to go in with a brand association that works, as I hear it, lotus is still very well known in china. at least proton is maximising the use of all its subsidiaries and resources..
I think thats a Dario Terios in the first picture
Just another effort to tap the potentially big and competative market over there. Still the badge is awful…but who cares anyway. Prancing lion??
BanyakMasukWorkshop, I think you were referring to Daewoo Motor corp.
toyota and holden are rivals in all segments.
eg.
aurion vs commodore
camry vs epica (rebadged daewoo)
yaris hatch vs barina (rebadged daewoo)
The logo on the steering wheel sucks. But that’s not what concern me most. The log appears to be a stick-on. If that’s the case, during air-bag deployment it would be a projectile. Highly dangerous. I hope the considered about the safety factor before they place the logo there.
there’s also our famous Proton QC sticker i.e. the “Proton-Lulus” sticking at the rear window.. hope they replace it with Lotus before sold the car
what the fork of proton. the car send to china have change the name to euro brand… what the hell is that
naikmotoje said,
May 16, 2008 @ 6:26 am
is the picture snap in china??
i can see perodua kembara there…
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yes, is in China
they don’t call it perodua kembara but daihatsu terios
khengyi82 said,
May 18, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
what the fork of proton. the car send to china have change the name to euro brand… what the hell is that
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who care! as long it can be sell and can make profit of it, its ok la..
izit correct guys??