Proton has announced that it will be investing RM1.2 billion in plant expansion initiatives in order to cater to the manufacturing process of its upcoming X70 SUV, as well as next-generation Proton models. The investment – which will be from Proton and not Zhejiang Geely Holdings – will also facilitate the transformation of its Tanjung Malim facility into an R&D and production hub for right-hand drive models within the Geely Group.
According to the company, the Tanjung Malim site will be augmented with new body in white (BIW), sub-assembly, trim and final, and logistic facilities. Set to be completed by March 2019, the plant will have a capacity of 150,000 annually, with production set to kick off in September 2019.
The new facilities represent Phase 1 of the plant’s expansion, and further expansion could see the addition of an engine plant, bringing total investment up to RM3 billion. The Tanjung Malim plant currently employs 1,700 people, but that figure is expected to grow to 8,200 by 2023.
The national automaker has also secured the use of intellectual properties (IP) and the rights to manufacture and sell three Geely models, namely the Boyue SUV (to be the Proton X70), as well as the SX11 SUV and VF11 MPV. The agreement encompasses the design, development, manufacture, sale, marketing and distribution of the three models, and it states Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand as countries that Proton is allowed to market the licensed models. The licensing period is 10 years.
Proton’s chairman Dato’ Seri Syed Faisal Albar said “Proton would like to urge its vendors to grab this opportunity to build partnerships with their overseas counterparts in order to reach a world standard for technology advancement and quality. This will enable them to compete internationally and lead to the development of a Malaysian automotive industry vendor community that is able to compete on a global scale.”
“The participation of Malaysian vendors is a key component to achieving the long-term goals of the company,” he added. The initial local content target for the CKD X70 is 30%. It will grow to 40% before exports to ASEAN markets start.
“We want Proton products that are built right here in Tanjung Malim, using parts made in Malaysia for the domestic market as well as for our export models and be able to stand comparison with competitors from around the world. This is a commitment Proton, as Malaysia’s iconic automotive brand, is making to ensure the Malaysian automotive industry continues to develop world class competencies,” explained Syed Faisal.
Proton’s long-term goal is to re-establish itself as a market leader domestically while growing its presence internationally, particularly in ASEAN right-hand drive markets.
Proton’s first ever SUV, the X70, will be assembled at the Tanjung Malim plant in 2019. It will first be launched in fully-imported (CBU China) form in November 2018. You can read all about the Honda CR-V rival, here.
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Be brave and march forth to a transformational future!
P1, Geely, Mesidis, VolvoCar, VolvoTrucks, Lotus > all
We have heard this the past 20 years about Tg Malim being the research centre and centre of excellence.
Nothing really happened the past 20 years.
The truth of the matter, in 3 years time PRoton won’t even exist in Malaysia. It will be 100% Geely models.
Call it what you may but Proton will be just an authorized principal dealer for Geely cars. That is all.
Our automotive industry died a long time ago PRoton. Just admit it.
5 years used Boyue and Volvo Xc90 sell at same price.
Pls be thankful to Geely and China. Our local CEOs could not revive Proton at all. But China CEO could do it within 6 months.
Rings true. Virgil wrote: Fortune favours the brave. And if Proton continues this path, it will reap fortunes again and again.
It’s confirm then, Geely using Proton existing facilities to flood Asean markets with Chinese Geely . As Malaysian market is too small for that kinda expansion investment for one model alone. What have you done DRB …you have let get the wolves in
Nobody complains when they using Oppo, Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Vivo, etc pongs. Not even when they secretly monitor ur usage. MY pipu only cares about pricing, as long its cheap, they will buy.
Oppo is RM500. X70 is RM110k. Big difference. If you not happy with your Oppo you can bin it. But can you bin your RM110k car?
You can choose not to buy in the first place lorr
Haha! He got no money to buy either anyways. He talking bollocks only bro.
Caj RM50K levy on foreign brand car
@john
Phones and cars are two different things mate. Perhaps you need to go back to school to differentiate between them.
IMO, I think current selection of handphone from China is on par with Korean or US makes.
this is good. We want more China goods to come in. We want more Forest Cities also to be built.
I am happy to see more people from China migrating into Malaysia.
P1 Terbaekk !!
The Chinese with their products are insideous …once China products are in they are like a plague that destroys everything else in their path.
This is good news. More China goods and more China residents living in Malaysia.
Very good news.
Nice to have Bakuteh stalls everywhere too. Easy to makan
Rejoice Proton, salvation is here!
Proton, Geely > all
Lucky China has come and saved Proton and is currently saving Malaysia in other sectors.
We need more people from Mainland like Li Chunrung to not only run our GLCs but also fill up Putrajaya so that things will run faster and more efficiently.
In less than 5 years, we will definitely be First World with such hardworking manpower
Dr.Li..pls bring the entire Geely range n convert to right hand drive…don’t waste time leh….all the subprima,Iriz,Exora , Hondana,Preve can put in muzium Negara.,maybe spare the Saga n Pesona to appease Proton fanboys… remember,Protiga is coming Liao…Tun will bulldoze through…. I wonder where DRB will get 1.2 billion RM ….another gomen grant under r n d ?…oh no…
This is the bestest comment I have ever heard….Iriz, Preve, Perdana, Exora all can put into Muzium Negara ha ha ha ha ha
Don’t worry, Geely will just do that
The only thing we see in museums are your Toyota cars.
They can get those money through bank loan
Looks like great news for proton.. more clarity now on Proton’s plans with Geely and the future. R&D and RHD hub for geely in malaysia is fantastic for us.. will bring lots of investment and jobs to our country. Hope local vendors jump on this opportunity.
Gud vendors jump onto P1Geely bandwagon.
Korni vendors jump onto Perotiga.
Cannot imagine what will happen if it fails, hope it won’t
Ever heard of “Fail to plan, plan to fail” ?
These Chinaman are not stupid. They did not grow their country at such a rapid pace & today overtake us in a mere 30 years.
Wat??? Tis is not even a high volume model, need to purposely build a factory just to assemble and show off “made in Malaysia”???????? It probably cost cheaper to just impot direct from China omg
Who says not high volume? Nearly 300,000 Boyue was sold last year.
That is in China… the market is totally different.
Look at the Big Picture. It’s not all about one product (X70) for one small country.
It’s initially about X70 & SX11 manufactured for Proton Malaysia. Then expansion for export to other ASEAN countries. Then add in the VF11 MPV.
After ASEAN, Geely will export these 3 models to other RHD countries (under Geely brand). It may be even more than these 3 models as they might decide on other models not licensed to Proton.
Who knows, maybe even RHD export version of Lynk & Co might be slated to be manufactured here. That’s the Big Picture.
So many economist here suddenly.
Otak kosong je, tak mampu isi data baru. Semua ckp pasal cerita lama
Byk duit sekarang proton. Malaysia dah nak bankrap. Proton makin kaya.
It is not fair to say that this China CEO can turn around Proton in less than a year. He introduced an already developed models into the Proton stable.Models that R&D was done and completed in Geely/Volvo labs.If you expect the Proton engineers to churned out a similar model, you will probably have to wait till your grandchild got married. Whos fault that Proton is in this shit? Your favourite PM Dr.M la! Throughout Proton history until 2005 he was the de facto boss. He is not engineer and trying to run a complex engineering operation and marketing all at the same time?It is a formula for failure and yet people are still hailing him as hero. The biggest hypocrite you can find in Malaysian politics today is Dr.M. The biggest corruption cases can be traced back to him like Samy Velu, Lim Liong Sik,corruptions.
When you are playing big boys game, USD 1.0Billion is expected. If the old Proton were to spend USD1.0B there would be a big brouhaha all over the Government organisation, with committees and sub committees monitoring the expenses. In the end the actual disbursed figure would be less than half the initial figure because the rest doesnt get approved by accountants who are assessing advanced engineering requirements.
It seems they bet everything on this model… if it doesn’t do well, this might be the end.
The new facility aint just X70 but for SX11 & VF11 as well. They r betting everything on their partnership with Geely will be successful, and looking at VolvoCar, im no doubt that Geely resources can turn P1 around. This time, if the locals hi nose of P1 cars, there is now the world market to turn to.
Production kick off in September 2019.
For X70, what happens between now & Sept 2019? After the initial buyers got their CBU X70, then what? Still CBU until Sept 2019? Or will small batches of X70 CKD be manufactured at existing Tg Malim plant until this new plant is ready?
Investment in new engines? What happened? Before Geely acquisition share in Proton, Proton new engines is nearly complete (base on the schedule). Can anyone tell us what happened to the project after Geely comes in.
Prefer the 4 cylinder engines compare with 3 cylinder engines which Geely and Volvo have. Hahaha….
Thank a lot.
Proton, u think u are RRoyce ka…show here, show there! Be like P2 lah, all of a sudden launch new model.They never cry wolf before the actual wolf come.
Look at ur Accordana!!
Show front, show back, show interior….then no show on the road!
Just launch the bloody thing lah!
P1 did over 2 million KM test for X70.
P2 did ZERO KM test on Mivi.
P1 treats customers lives as top priority.
P2 treats customers like their guinea pigs.
See the who cares more for their customers and why it took them so long to launch it?
Yes at the end rakyat has to buy this so call “national car” and on another hand we rakyat marhaen just can watch only imported car or other brands
Everything of this car is copy and paste (except for the steering wheel).
You see the E-Parking button is blocked by the gear knob. That button is supposed to be at the driver side.
Can someone please explain why it needs a R&D dept.??