A post on the official Facebook page of prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad stated that the premier met with representatives of DRB-Hicom and Geely last Friday regarding the future direction of Proton. That’s not exactly big news in itself, but the sentence that followed it is – Mahathir also got the opportunity to drive the yet-to-be-launched Proton SUV.
Now, a few units of the Geely Boyue – on which the national carmaker’s first ever SUV will be based – have been seen on these shores since last year, ever since Geely signed an agreement to buy a stake in Proton. The car was first put on display as a preview of the new model, before being caught undergoing testing on local roads. However, these test units have all been left-hand drive, contrary to a post on social media.
The red crossover seen in these photographs differs from the early mules in one key area – it’s absolutely, definitely a right-hand drive model. What’s more, the car sports a new slatted grille differing from the Geely’s concentric “expanding cosmos” design, incorporating what appears to be a shield-shaped base for the missing Proton logo.
This means that Proton is slightly ahead of schedule in terms of development, as it was only supposed to debut the first RHD units next month. The as-yet-unnamed Proton SUV will be launched in October as a fully-imported (CBU) offering from China, before CKD local assembly kicks off next year.
Clearly based on the new facelifted Boyue judging by the design of the front bumper, this car features few exterior changes over the donor car. This tallies with previous remarks made by Proton’s head of design Azlan Othman, who said that minimal design tweaks will be made to get the car out the door, but “changes will come in the CKD version next year.”
From what we can see, the Proton version will come with smaller 18-inch wheels – rather than the 19s introduced on the facelift – and will be available with brown leather upholstery. Other features of note include a panoramic sunroof, 360-degree cameras (with a three-dimensional view function) and the new flush-fitting eight-inch infotainment touchscreen.
Also seen is a camera at the top of the windscreen to enable the car’s driver assists. These will include features like autonomous emergency braking and lane departure warning, and Proton has also confirmed that adaptive cruise control will be part of the kit list.
As for the engine, it’s a 1.8 litre turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder engine, as hinted by the TGDi badge on the doors. It makes 181 hp and 285 Nm of torque, paired to a six-speed automatic transmission and an expected choice of either front- or all-wheel drive. So, what do you think of Proton’s new SUV?
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Lao ban Li Shufu himself came down to the meeting! Woohooo! See, Tun also look happy and approves Geely’s expertise and investment in Proton!
Proton, Geely > all
Tun M is bringing a lot of changes to Malaysia and to Proton. I am glad I voted a clean Government to run my country
Hidup Tun! Hidup P1!!
i mentioned it but all of you stupid dont want to believe me. converting LHD to RHD is easy and fast. its a reverse engineering, and with modern high technology like example autocad and 3D printing – things that would take 6 months and can be reduced to just about 3 weeks. look at how proton and geely worked together to produce this RHD spec boyue. the one see today of course not the first one, that happened several months back already. now what they need is do some reliability tests.
true dat. converting LHD to RHD is easy and fast. yet P1 took 2years just to develop the exterior and interior of Accordana RHD.
Proton needs to tease here and there so that more pipu buy it mah
Tesla takes 2 years to convert you tak bash pulak. Oh it is white overlord so dun persoal.
Topkek
eh, sudah tukar cerita lagi? You always posted links about Tesla taking 2 years to convert. Everytime, you said Tesla and Proton needed 2 years to convert left hand drive to right hand drive.
But now you pusing and say less than 6 months only needed.
Which is true?
Indicator stalks are on the wrong side.
All Proton cars the same. Proton has done a lot of ‘R&D’ to keep it the same
“In any case, converting a left-hand drive car to a right-hand drive one isn’t as simple as moving the steering wheel and pedals to the correct side. Aside from a completely new dashboard, switchgear, power window buttons and even the front seats, there would also need to be changes to the mechanicals as well.”
https://paultan.org/2018/01/12/photo-of-proton-right-hand-drive-geely-boyue-is-fake/
To be fair, Najib deserves credit for allowing this partnership to happen. Tun would never have allowed this, prefer bailing out, and continue to run ineffectively.
If Tun was PM, Proton today probably continue R&D Volcano engine? The TGDI powertrain with Jatco torque converter CVT.
Sorry, but I’d take Geely partnership over that anytime, the one of few things Najib did right.
Yup, and Mahathir has still not acknowledged the fact Proton cars cant even be exported because the technology is not up to par. but he prefers it to say, the European Union sabotages other brands because of the Euro 5 or 6 or now 6e. Mahathirs’ ego in this is gloriously so high and dumb.
You’re not at all bright, are you? This deal was made all by previous government. Tun had washed his hands off Proton, said belongs to China now. He wants to start a new national car company Hahahaha. Fools begets Fools.
Bro. If he was bright, he wudnt be stuck here as PH troll no?
Within 1 month of Pakatan taking over, even Proton is showing signs of recovery and a good future. Wow, new Government has brought about new SUV for us Malaysians.
Thank you Harapan!!!!!
Given Volvo’s solid success mainly down to Geely China. Proton bound to meet a new dawn.
Syabas MY all new SUV Proton Harapan !
This car will be a huge success if priced right. The keyword is priced right. But now China running the show, they are smart and clever and will not price it way too high like how previous Proton models were priced.
Previously, Proton was badly run and those that ran Proton thought Proton was Rolls Royce quality and always priced it super high
Look at the Perdana, priced at RM118k and RM140k, sales to the public is non existent. 99% sales went to Government offices.
Hopefully China inject some brains into Proton and price this car reasonable.
Thanks to ajib proton now are in a better position than before. If not they will probably still pushing the saga by now.
Eat your words Tun. His face telling a trillion words.
Spot on. Worried about a trillion debts.
60-year wait for our nation, 30years for P1.
The wise one says, Good Things Take Time.
Better Late Than Never
P1, Geely, Mesidis, VolvoCar, VolvoTrucks, Lotus > all
lynk n co,london taxi and polstar also allssss
We must thank Tun M for keeping Prootn alive all this while cause if not for Tun M, we won’t benefit from this wonderful SUV
Stunning efforts from Geely too. The deal just signed in Jun 17. Here we are June 18, looking at the right-hand drive prototype. Memang superb!
Lucky China saved Proton. Lucky also Proton finally gave up their ketuanan issues and decided to sell to Geely.
It looks like China has given Proton a new life. All our local CEOs could not do what CEO Li did in 6 months, restructure the company and make it a success.
20 years of local GLC CEOs had no clue how to restructure Proton but CEO Li could do it.
We need more Mainland people to run our GLCs from now on
There’s a difference. Geely owns 49.9% of PROTON. Local GLC CEOs are appointed employees. Dr Li is also negotiating from a position of strength because he came in with promises of investment and new models.
In the meantime, PROTON car sales are lower than they have ever been, dealers are unhappy because they have to invest millions in a new dealership while sales are dropping like a stone and thousands of assembly line workers sit but get paid because there are no cars to build, suppliers to pay and PROTON cannot afford a VSS exercise.
Also, PRC bosses in Malaysian companies are not a perfect fit. There are cultural differences that need to be overcome (even with local Chinese) and they are less flexible about considering what locals have to say than the Japanese are. It’s not good when every point they need to make starts with “In China…” because hey, they’re not in China.
“They are not in China?”???
But when it comes to pricing, bashers compare car price with claimed 22k USA camry pulak.
Topkek.
Agreed. Not only the dealers are suffering, the local vendors are also closing shop since geely took over proton. How many suv can proton sell in a month?
Now we know why Tun asked to meet DRB & Proton last Friday. Wonder what else was discussed with Tun?
With this, the day where imported cars are not over taxed and over priced is over. If P1 is around, we Malaysian will never ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. I do not see the day where the GOV will reduce excise duty if P1 is around.
National car Perodua still around, Proton not longer as national car. Still blur blur
P2 is national car assembler saja
Government said it is National car. So, believe you or Government? Both past and resent Government said it is national car.
U belip gov? Hahahaha
I believe in a clean Government. Not your dirty corrupted Government before
“Clean government”? Wow the brains got fed dedak so much it rottens.
Perodua is not a national car.. not even closer..
p2 is national rebadge car to be precise.
National rebadge car means P2 rebadge P1 cars?
Dey, to be exact, Poo2 is national ‘cut corner’ rebadge car (all of their car are either missing or threw out the most simple yet important temperature meter, i not mentioned yet about standardised ABS and VSC which were long absent on other models)
Who introduce the foreign car tax before I wonder?
oska.. proton has very low market share now.. to continue harping that high taxes protect proton is totally inaccurate. the brand that benefits the most out of our countries protectionist auto policies today is Perodua without a doubt, with over 60% market share.. everyone one of those “japanese” derived cars sold by them enjoy the same tax benefits that Proton has.
wow.. the Geely boss sendiri come to Malaysia for this.. salute
Li Shufu is multi billionaire, for him to personally come down and spend his precious time here, it is evidence he takes his investment in Proton seriously. So bashers all who say he only wants Lotus, pakai buang Proton are fake news! His time is too precious to be wasted like this if he is not serious.
Apparently Tun M already met Dr Li Chunrong since before he joined Proton. It’s a good sign for Proton to have a very good relationship with new govt, contrary to bashers claiim Tun will want to halau Geely balik. Gotta love their faces when shaking hand kyaaaaa so cute, no homo.
Tun M already met Li Shufu before this in China. He even mooted the idea for collaboration, not taking over, so Chairman Li coming to Malaysia to meet him is good to smooth over any lingering issues.
He can’t give two shits about Li Chunrong. Just another faceless foreign CEO to him. In fact, the latter is scared to meet Tun so make of that what you will.
This development is good though. Showing support towards Proton will dampen any further P3 talk and shows that Tun still has the company close to his heart.
Bapak wanted to gauge the level of competition for his new baby but from the looks on his face, can tell hes not happy at the challenge he has to surpass.
Let’s hope the poorly thought out new national car idea is now put to bed once and for all. Malaysia has a better chance of having a global car with Geely.
So now only wait for this final name : Proton X7, PX7, X70 or X700…
Why the 7 ah? I think they like flower names. Proton bunga raya
Keep up wif major national events.
Proton Coolie
In UAE, the Geely Boyue is known as Geely Emgrand X7 Sports. So the 7 designation is not completely random.
The final name : Proton PM7 (PRIME MINISTER 7)
If Porsche has Macan, Proton should have Macai.
Hum Tun looks happier than usual I think he likes the car ….wow he still likes to drive that’s a good sign
Ive heard that the version 2 would not look the same and it will be powerd by a 1.5TGDI hum interesting
He dont look impressed
China made. What to do.. proton is not national car..
https://paultan.org/2018/06/26/tun-m-impressed-by-proton-suvs-quality-and-build
to be exact.. Proton is a Malaysian car.. i think this constant harping on it being a “National Car” has actually been the biggest problem facing Proton all these years and especially in its export markets.
I really hope geely will let p1 to do their own research not for just rebadged. I understand tun when he said if we just rebadged cars, we’ll never be a developed country. Volvo can run their own research, nissan, range rover etc after take over also still doing their research and cars. Why not p1?
its true.. but how ironic then, that the “2nd National Car” project, Perodua, is now the main benefactor of the govt. protection also afforded to Proton. Perodua cars today make up more than 60% of the entire market share with their “Japanese derived” cars.
It’s up to Proton and Geely to convince Dr. M that we have no real need for another Malaysian car company. Proton is on the right track, many good things are brewing. We need only give the new Proton management a chance, and a little more time.
Dr. M, you created Proton some 35 years ago; Proton is your child. Proton is synonymous with Dr. M and Malaysia. So what if Proton ‘married’ a Chinese partner ? Proton is old enough to make their own decisions now, the government (i.e., their parents) should not hold them back. Is it right to disown your ‘child’, just because they ‘married’ someone you didn’t approve ? If Geely were a Japanese company, would Dr. M have reacted differently ? Think about it…
International ‘marriages’ in the auto industry are actually very common. Before marrying Nissan & Renault, Mitsubishi was married to Chrysler… Chrysler also married Mercedes-Benz (now divorced) and later Fiat (still together). Suzuki married Volkswagen (since divorced). Mazda was once married to Ford, and so was Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover. Holden has been married to General Motors for decades and decades. Volkswagen has/had so many ‘spouses’ over the years, you wouldn’t even want to know how many. There are many, many more examples of such international marriages in the auto industry.
This is the 21st century, everything is globalised, things have changed. We have to move with the times, lest we get left behind.
Anyway, I wish Proton-Geely all the best, and good luck moving forward. It will take years for Proton’s public perception to change, but it’s not an impossible task. Perodua has largely improved their brand perception. Even TM, once universally hated, has seen more positive reception in the past few years. If others could do it, surely Proton can do it too.
Terbaik Aero bru.
Malaysia Baru. Proton Baru.
Thanks bro. I’m still ‘cautiously optimistic’; Hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. There is still too much uncertainty.
Bapak is best at recreating the past.
I think the idea of a new national car is just to pressure geely into joint venture with the local vendors. Look at the timing, Tun announced the possibility of 3rd national car, then Mr. Li himself showed up right after that.
This is utter bullcrapp. He knows more than you will ever be. The point isnt about the marriage. That 50.01 – 49.9 is confirmed a gimmick. Shares numbers are not reflecting what is on the ground.
You all glad with that gimmick they say its still proton. But the truth is, geely running the show. All points to geely benefits.
You still remember that mercenary saying about they teach people to close their eyes and pray? And when the people open their eyes, the land and bible change hands?
Thats happening. The bible is some cars models. The land is the Tanjong Malim state of the art factory
Hi, I’m just a normal guy, an outsider. You’re right, I don’t know what’s really happening inside Proton, and probably never will. However, over the years, I’ve met many Proton staff, and I can tell you that they’re a hard-working and talented lot. The problem is, Proton didn’t have enough manpower prior to Geely’s entrance. In fact, in 2015, Proton only had 800 or so R&D staff, while Geely had well over 5,000 (likely, almost 10,000 today). Meanwhile, a really big company like Volkswagen has over 20,000 R&D staff.
The reality is, Proton simply cannot keep up with market trends (let alone grow) with a small, overextended workforce. To develop just one standalone model, you need at least RM700 million. Engine development is even more expensive, going into the billions. And we haven’t even touched on hybrid powertrains, let alone fully electric.
I do not doubt Dr. M’s wisdom. Recall that during the early 1990s, Dr. M got frustrated with Mitsubishi because of their attitude towards technology transfer. Mitsubishi did not want Proton to grow too strong, they wanted to ‘keep Proton down’ so that they could cash in on exorbitant licensing fees and guaranteed sales thanks to market protection.
But Dr. M was smart, he created a ‘backup plan’… which came to be Perodua, with the help of Daihatsu. At the time, Mitsubishi also made similar ‘kei’ cars, so the creation of Perodua was ‘a slap in the face’ for Mitsubishi. Later, Dr. M allowed Proton to work with Citroen through DRB/USPD.
Dr. M broke Mitsubishi’s monopoly on the National Car Project to gain more leverage. But ultimately, it proved unnecessary, because by 1995, Proton had become very rich, and could afford to buy Lotus… after that, Proton was effectively ‘free’ from Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi’s original 30% stake in Proton gradually reduced to zero by 2004). Lotus greatly helped in the Waja’s development, and even the MVF factory where the Waja was to be made was built without Mitsubishi’s guiding hand.
Dr. M really wanted Proton to be able to build their own car, which could hold its own against the established global players, and he went to great lengths to achieve it. But ever since Geely took over, Dr. M seems to have perceived it as a ‘step backward’, because once again, a foreign company is in charge of Proton.
But if even the car companies of more advanced or comparable ‘small markets’ such as the Czech Republic (Skoda), Spain (SEAT), Sweden (Volvo and SAAB), Australia (Holden), Turkey (TOFAS), Iran (SAIPA), Russia (Lada), Taiwan (Luxgen) and Poland (FSO) struggled/ didn’t survive without a joint-venture/ takeover…. what hope does Malaysia have with a truly independent car company ? Korea is the sole exception, but it must be mentioned that Hyundai and Kia only became strong after they merged in the late 1990s or so. Daewoo and Ssangyong were not as fortunate.
Whether we like it or not, the only way forward for Proton now is a joint-venture, and Geely has so far proven to be a good partner. There is no place for small players in the global auto market, this industry is extremely dependent on volume.
You gain some, lose some, you can’t have everything in this world.
Mahathir created Perodua to kill Mitsu but instead its killing his baby, Proton. He has a tendency to create monsters just to kill his previous abominations, and probably he will create another even bigger monster to kill his current monster.
And the cycle goes on…
Urgghhh a oldman rhetoriks.
Previous, create, current, goes on…Sigh
Why do u think not even manpower?
Because Malaysia market alone is not enough for a Brand.
Tun is not a saint nor smart in something. he has one ego, the mamak ego. sometimes we cant excel in all, but he thinks we can even though malaysia dont even have enough market.
Deswai P1 will market it to ASEAN countries
why brown interior?
Why not? It gives a luxurious look to the interior. Black is too common.
Yeah agree. Black is more klaustrophobic than light colours.
Light colors gets dirty easier than black
Most luxury cars uses brown leather.
But black if gets dirty it is too obvious like dust, brown is in the middle
If beige, why beige?
If black, why black?
If red, why red?
Errr why you ask?
It’s customer’s preference. If lidat also cannot ask. How to top up CSI?
Just launch the bloody ugly thing ! Sell it below RM50k…..
Its like you have the money to buy it..pfftt
rm50k? you ingat you punya duit besar macam roda kereta lembu?
Tun tun tun tun tun …… you think it’s a song ah people?
Next business oppurtinity. Bring those half cuts of Boyue from China la.
A few proton vendors had closed shop since Geely took over. More will suffer when unsalable suv comes on stream.
Bumiputera vendors diutamakan
Still the “play safe” design. Huh…
Proton Boyue will be a welcomed changed with a fresh new design for a new Msia. It will be a major sales contributor for Proton, happy to see our country progressing in the correct direction. Soon, with Geely’s progress in electric cars, it will make up a predominant lineup for Proton.