Malaysian carmaker Proton is reportedly gearing up for a return to Australia and other major markets, thanks to its Chinese parent company Geely.
Though Malaysia is a country with right-hand drive vehicles, Proton’s past attempts at taking its cars outside of its home market haven’t lasted – which included a 22-year stint in Australia before it departed in 2017.
While it still sells vehicles in South Africa, UK publication Autocar reports Proton is looking to expand outside Malaysia and fringe markets once again, not only throughout Asia but also Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, according to sources close to company CEO Li Chunrong.
X90
Proton is currently in the process of constructing a new home of corporate and manufacturing known as the Automotive Hi-Tech Valley (AHTV), which is expected to be the basis of the company’s entire operations by 2027.
The new facility has been subject to significant investment from Proton’s joint owners, Malaysian industrial giant DRB-HICOM Berhad – which wholly owned the carmaker from 2012 until mid 2017 – and Geely, which owns a 49.9 per cent stake in the brand.
When the industrial firm sold its minority stake in Proton to Geely, it also offloaded its 51 per cent controlling stake in Lotus to the Chinese company, with Malaysian holding company Etika Automotive buying the remaining 49 per cent.
While Lotus has received the most attention from Geely, launching electric vehicles (EVs) based on its Chinese parent’s platforms, Proton has yet to return to global markets despite having its own R&D centre within Geely’s Research Institute.
X70
In Malaysia, Proton sells four models based on Geely vehicles – the X50, X70, X90 and S70.
This alongside three models from its pre-Geely days, the Saga, Persona and Iriz. None of these were sold in Australia before Proton’s local departure.
It’s also gearing up to launch its first EV under the sub-brand e:MAS, with the e:MAS 7 going on sale in Malaysia as a rebadged Geely E5 – the electric SUV recently spotted in Australia and expected to go on sale here.
Just what models could go on sale globally and in Australia from Proton are unknown, though it’s understood to be developing successors to its pre-Geely-based lineup.
You can read more about Proton’s Australian past in Part One of our “25 years of failures: The car brands that didn’t succeed” series here.
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MORE: 25 years of failures: The car brands that didn’t succeed in Australia, Part I
