Apparently there is an internal naming contest being held where Proton and Proton subsidiary employees can take part to name a new Proton sedan. The main prize winner will get RM10,000 cash, a GPS navigation unit, a special invite to the new Proton Sedan launch and 2 passes to the KLIMS 2010.
The two passes to this year’s KLIMS motorshow (3rd to 12th December 2010) may indicate that this is a model that’ll be launched this year – are we looking at the new Waja replacement which is rumoured to be based on a Mitsubishi Lancer, or something else? The contest will run from the 10th and ends on the 25th this month. You can click the thumbnail image on the left to view the full contest poster.
A little bird has indicated that Proton will probably take a small media group to the Geneva show (end February to March) this year, so there could be something of importance being unveiled there. Remember Azlan Othman’s tweet about Proton unveiling a new design direction this year?
Back in late 2008, Proton had engaged in a legal tussle with its ex-partner for the Chinese market. Before Proton went to bed with Youngman for the Europestar range of cars, they actually had a JV with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd to sell Proton cars there. Unfortunately there were hiccups along the way and Goldstar could not obtain the necessary manufacturing licenses.
Proton terminated the JV and naturally Goldstar was not happy. They went to court and the suit ended up being in arbitration in Singapore.
Proton Edar, the marketing arm of Proton Holdings Berhad, held a prize giving ceremony this morning at the Proton Centre of Excellence. Proton Edar CEO Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim was present to give away cash and holiday packages to the winners of the Proton Drive for Holidays campaign, which ran from 1 November to 31 December 2009.
In that period, those who purchased and registered a new Exora or Persona were instantly rewarded with a three-day/two-night hotel stay within Malaysia, while all new customers were eligible to join an SMS contest with seven mobile phones to be won per day. After answering three random questions in the quickest time, the mobile phone winners were entitled to join a MMS contest. This stage required participants to send an image of a favourite part of their Proton, accompanied by a creative caption. Seven winners walked away with 3D2N stays at plush resorts and cash prizes. They are:
7th prize: Yeoh Chian Hui from Kangar
6th prize: Loo Chun Pin from KL
5th prize: Noridah bt Ab Rahman from Rantau Panjang
4th prize: Kee Ming How from Johor Bharu
3rd prize: Lee Yit Ting from Melaka
2nd prize: Mohamad Hadi b Ramli from Seri Kembangan
1st prize: Mohd. Raznan b Johari from Klang
Shukor revealed that registrations was up by 24% year-on-year during the two contest months, proving the effectiveness of the campaign. More “creative campaigns” are being planned, he added. The momentum looks to have been carried to 2010 as well, since Proton’s January figures show an increase of 40% compared to the same month in 2009.
The 1.6 liter Campro CPS engine used in the Proton Exora has been the subject of much criticism, whether called for or not. Yes, having a relatively small engine in a large vehicle is bound to require a little more pedal to the metal but everytime there is a story about the Exora or the Alza on this site there is bound to be those who pop up and say that they’ve tried the Exora in so and so situations and the MPV failed to deliver.
I think other than Proton themselves, the next group of people who are likely to be infuriated by such allegations are the Proton Exora owners themselves. After all, they’ve committed to years of monthly repayments to the Proton family vehicle of their choice and having a personal connection with their car, insulting the Exora is almost like insulting their logic or choice of picking the Exora over its competitors.
Quite interestingly, the Exora owners over at protonexora.com.my (Exora Owners Club Malaysia) have decided to take the matter into their own hands. They’ve actually organised a convoy together up to the Genting Highlands Resort. The EOCM 2010 Genting Highlands Road Tour convoy began last Saturday at the Genting Sempah Rest Area. The Exora went up and down (with no sweat) and the members had a great time. The “Jom Ronda Bersama Proton” crew from TV3 also joined in to feature the convoy in an upcoming segment.
It’s nice to see how much passion these guys have for their Proton Exoras. It’s one vehicle that Proton has managed to tick all the right boxes for its intended target customer – space, comfort and price. It just shows that although you could say Proton has failed us in the past with products that don’t quite right hit the sweet spot, when Proton delivers something good, Malaysians will reciprocate.
It was an early start for a Saturday morning, but I dragged myself out of bed to Proton’s Shah Alam factory to join in the national carmaker’s annual Family Day event; yesterday’s 2010 edition also kick off Proton’s silver jubilee 25th anniversary celebrations. They erected a seriously huge tent (more like an airplane hangar!) to house 18,000 staff and their families who packed the venue. The guest of honour was none other than the man who’s vision created Proton: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed accompanied by wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah.
No, there weren’t any sneak preview of the Persona facelift or new Waja that I had hoped to catch, but the event was anything but boring, thanks to the participants of Proton’s Invention and Innovation competition, an in-house inter-department contest where staff came up with “concept cars” using units that were destined for scrapping. It was very entertaining to say the least; there was a supercar, a shoe car, a caravan, a wooden sportscar, a Donald Duck inspired gullwing Saga and a space ship!
Check the gallery after the jump, but before firing the poison arrows, please do not take them too seriously – this is just a fun contest open to all Proton staff, not a prototype design shootout for the next production model. Enjoy!
In the last few days of the 2009, Proton styling department chief Azlan Othman revealed that an announcement would be made soon on the showcase of a new design direction and language for Proton Design. He mentioned that it would be a ‘worldwide announcement’, and I think Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal has just given us a clue as to when this announcement is going to happen!
He revealed at Proton’s 2010 Family Day celebrations that Proton would be participating in the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March this year. Geneva is probably one of the most important non-American market motorshows out there along with the Frankfurt show, which is just a wee bit strange considering there are no Swiss automotive manufacturers.
A Geneva exhibit usually warrants something big to showcase to make it worth it so maybe… just maybe… perhaps what Azlan meant was that Proton could be showing an interesting concept car featuring future design language elements in it? Peugeot is also taking the same route, showcasing its Peugeot SR1 Concept there.
Other than that, DSZ also said that the Exora is due for a Middle Eastern market debut soon, and a consolidation process of its Shah Alam and Tanjung Malim plants are underway and scheduled to complete by the end of this year. No details have been revealed but in Proton’s current overcapacity state we might see Proton consolidate all manufacturing in one plant?
The lightly taped up facelifted white Proton Persona with the B2641A trade plate has been snapped again, this time by reader Rai. He has 5 photos to share with us, including a close up of the taped up wing mirror with an integrated turn signal. Alot are expecting the new updated Persona to be launched this year. Apparently we’ll be able to look forward to better driveability from the engine as the ECU has been updated to a newer model. For the rest of the photos, look after the jump.
Proton Xchange Programme, the car scrapping scheme from Proton has been discontinued. In a media statement, Proton said only applications that reached its offices on or before Oct 31 would be processed for the rebate vouchers.
The national car manufacturer said it had received a total of 25,862 applications from March 10 to Oct 31, exhausting the funds provided by the government’s economic stimulus plan before the given year-end period. 7,539 applications were received from Nov 1-6 before Proton realised that the piggy bank was empty – however, the company has come up with a “special incentive scheme” for this group of customers. If you are among those who submitted forms in November, contact Proton for further arrangements.
Unsuccessful applicants will not need to surrender their old cars in order to enjoy the special scheme but Proton would provide the necessary assistance in making arrangements with used car dealers. “While this scheme is applicable to the purchases of any Proton cars, the cars must be registered by the Jan 31, 2010,” the statement read.
Proton’s head designer Azlan Othman tweeted the above on his Twitter account a few days ago – it looks like we’ll be able to look forward to a showcase of a new look for Proton cars next year!
It was reported earlier this year that Italdesign-Giugiaro (which recently penned the Ssangyong C200 Concept) was hired to help Proton out with the new global Persona full replacement model and a clay model of the new car already exists at the design house’s HQ in Italy. They could also be helping Proton out with its new family design language?
We assure you Azlan, we’re definitely looking out for an announcement soon!
Our little hardworking secret project for 2010 team was having a short break and discussion at the Petronas near the Sepang International Circuit a few weeks ago and it so happened that a lightly disguised facelifted Proton Persona was being refueled there
We wasted no time and snapped away to bring you a closer look to what we’ll soon be able to buy next year. Look after the jump for all four photos in high resolution goodness.
This piece of news actually appeared on the MITI website in August this year – it reveals that Proton is currently working with South Korean company LG on Proton electric cars (not sure where Detroit Electric have gone). We’re talking about pure electric vehicles with zero emissions, driven by an electric motor powered by a battery.
According to the report, the electric drive module can be recharged from a regular household electricity socket and can go about 200km on a single charge. The report also speculates that with advancement in battery technology, future ranges can be expected in around the 600km range.
Proton has worked with LG on various projects in the past. LG CNS has worked on various areas in the Proton Savvy, Proton Saga and Proton Exora project in the past. I think we can safely say that Proton-LG projects generally produce results that can make their way into production so we can probably see the fruits of this project on our roads sometime in the future.
We currently don’t have the infrastructure to support medium to long distance electric car journeys in our country. With ranges of 200km, you can only travel within the city and back to your home at night to recharge your vehicle. For longer distances such as inter-state journeys where you have to spend your next night in a place that is not your home, it may be hard to find somewhere to charge your car.
Sure, you can plug your car into any wall socket but then there is also a question of finding somewhere to park which has a wall socket, and how do we work out how much to pay and to whom to pay for the electricity used?
So for now I think we might see hybrid Protons first, before electric Protons are sold in this country. Proton is currently working with Lotus for hybrid car development, and a few units of hybrid Proton Exora MPVs are currently on test in the UK and are due to be shipped to Malaysia for further testing within the next quarter. As for Proton electric cars, we’ve seen an electric Saga concept before.
It is good that Proton is expediting electric car development now instead of waiting for our local infrastructure to be developed. After all, EVs are already in use in countries like the UK and Proton must think like a global manufacturer which has the world as its market, not just Malaysia. And it looks like it is doing just that, with the development of these electric vehicles.
The clay model you see above was captured from a Proton R&D video clip posted onto Youtube by a user. You’ll be able to see the clay model around the 41 second mark. I’ve no idea what it’s supposed to be, but anything that just might be a preview of a future Proton model is always intriguing. It could also only be some kind of old design study that’ll never see the light of day But back to reality – it actually kinda looks like a GEN2/Persona, with unfinished headlamps, so it could be a half way done clay model on the way to becoming a GEN2/Persona. Anyway it’s a nice photo for those who wanna check out the facilities that Proton have for car development. You can watch the video after the jump.
Apparently there are some Proton Exora Hybrid prototypes running around in Lotus UK and Proton’s managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Syed Mohamad Tahir confirmed in a report with Bernama that he has tried them out. The prototypes were developed in collaboration with Lotus and various hybrid-related component suppliers like battery manufacturers.
The hybrid Exoras will be shipped to Malaysia by the end of this month or at the latest by early 2010, presumably to continue R&D and testing under local climate and conditions. But they won’t be going into production that soon, first Proton will assemble some hybrid models for government fleet use. Mass production of hybrid cars will come in 2011.
In March 2007, we got a glimpse of a Proton-Lotus hybrid vehicle collaboration called the Proton GEN2 EVE Hybrid Concept. Basically the 1.6 liter Campro was combined with a 30kW (40hp) electric motor and a CVT transmission. As a result, combined output is 141 horses, enough to take the car from 0 to 100km/h in 9 seconds. The standard Campro’s torque output goes up from 148Nm to a very nice 233Nm from just 1,500rpm.
Proton flew the car in for the Proton Technology Week in August 2008 but no media got to drive it – only our ex-PM had a go at the steering wheel.
Assuming a similiar setup is used, I can see how a Proton Exora would benefit from 233Nm of torque at such a low RPM. It would improve driveability by bucketloads, and with a CVT transmission the engine would always be in its most efficient speed band.
Lotus has also showcased a new ‘range extender’ hybrid system earlier this year. The Lotus range extender system basically uses an electric motor as the sole propulsion unit, but the battery can be charged by a 1.2 liter 3-cylinder engine that operates only as a generator – it does not drive the wheels.
The Proton Exora will go on sale in Thailand at the Thai Motor Expo this month. I don’t have the exact variants but Proton’s Thai distributor Phranakorn Auto Sales revealed that it would be pricing the car between 699,000 Baht to 799,000 Baht. This undercuts the recently launched Honda Freed’s price tag of between 894,000 Baht and 1,074,500 Baht. We will also be getting the Freed soon. The Savvy is also expected to be phased out in Q3 2010 and replaced with the 1.3 liter Proton Saga. – Source, Source 2
In other Proton news, head honcho Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir revealed in a report in Business Times that talks with a strategic partner has been very intense now and the company will be announcing a strategic partner “very soon”, without revealing any quotable specific timelines. He added that the partner is an ideal one that would be good for the country and the automotive eco-system, which includes the parts ecosystem as well.
Interestingly profit surged from RM43.8 million (on revenue of RM1.8 billion) during the same quarter last financial year up to RM82.1 million (on revenue of RM2.1 billion) this quarter. Proton claims the improvement was achieved thanks to higher domestic sales and better profit margins. Alot of the improvement is thanks to the Exora.
Apparently there is an internal naming contest being held where Proton and Proton subsidiary employees can take part to name a new Proton sedan. The main prize winner will get RM10,000 cash, a GPS navigation unit, a special invite to the new Proton Sedan launch and 2 passes to the KLIMS 2010.
Back in late 2008, Proton had engaged in a legal tussle with its ex-partner for the Chinese market. Before Proton went to bed with Youngman for the Europestar range of cars, they actually had a JV with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd to sell Proton cars there. Unfortunately there were hiccups along the way and Goldstar could not obtain the necessary manufacturing licenses.
But back to reality – it actually kinda looks like a GEN2/Persona, with unfinished headlamps, so it could be a half way done clay model on the way to becoming a GEN2/Persona. Anyway it’s a nice photo for those who wanna check out the facilities that Proton have for car development. You can watch the video after the jump.
