1.0 MALAYSIA CAR INDUSTRY 1.1 Background Malaysia is one of the smaller Southeast Asian markets for motor vehicle production and sales and ranks behind South Korea, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. Since 1985, when the first made-in-Malaysia car, Proton rolled off the production line, it have been spearheading Malaysia's ambitious plan to become one of the world's most advanced industrial societies by the year 2020. To date over one million Protons have been sold in 51 countries throughout the world. By contrast, Malaysia's motor vehicle industry actually remains heavily protected with import duties ranging from 140 to 300 percent on cars, and very high local content requirements. Malaysia also maintains an import ban on motor vehicles from Israel and South Africa. These protectionism clause in large has made Proton to became the number one best selling passenger car in Malaysia. It has also maintained a huge market share of over 50% since 1987 from it infancy beginnings in 1985.
The front of a first generation Proton Saga, in Ba...
The front of a first generation Proton Perdana, in...
Front quarter view of a second generation Proton S...1.2 Market Review Year 1998 Position Makes Sales Unit Share 1 Proton ( EON ) 67595 49.5% 2 Kancil 38921 28.5% 3 Proton ( USPD ) 19894 14.6% 4 Honda 4100 3.0% 5 Toyota 1930 1.4% 6 Nissan 1407 1.0% 7 Mercedes Benz 1160 0.9% 8 BMW 672 0.5% 9 Volvo 422 0.3% 10 Peugeot 350 0.3% Total Passenger Car 136451 100% 1.3 The Proton Story In 1983, the Malaysian government formed Proton (Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional) - a 70/30 joint venture between the Malaysian government and Mitsubishi. Assembly of its first national car, the Proton SAGA, began in 1985. The SAGA contained 70 percent local content in the beginning, with plans to increase this eventually to 90-95 percent. Currently the Proton is between 60 and 62 percent local content according to GSP criteria.
Product Launch 1985 Proton...