BACKGROUND OF PROTON HOLDINGS BERHAD

Proton is the Malaysian national manufacturer and it was Malaysias only carmaker until

the establishment of its competitor. Its name is a Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil

National( PROTON) also known as National Automobil Enterprise. This automobile enterprise

was incorporated in May 7,1983 under the direction of Malaysias Prime Minister, Dato Seri

Mahathir Mohamed is the admirable hero who had originally conceived the idea of Malaysia car.

Proton functions mainly to manufacturer, assemble and sell motor vehicles and related products

including accessories, spare parts and other components. It is a core member of Proton Holdings

Berhad, the holding company which is listed on Bursa Malaysia.

One of the main objectives for the creation of Proton was to propel Malaysia into the 21st

century as an industrialized nation, where the acquisition of technological knowledge, know-how

and expertise, would help the country achieve both short-term and long-term goals. Objective

that includes the development of indigenous research and development capabilities, world class

manufacturing and production standards, design capabilities as well as a presence in the global

market. Their vision is to become a successful Malaysian Automotive Manufacturer globally by

being customer oriented and producing competitively priced and innovative quality products. In

Proton early inception back in 1983, the Proton identity was created to symbolize strength and

Malaysian heritage. As time changes, the new proton identity have been their mark of pride,

which embodies the positives qualities that have come to be associated with Proton over the

years. The diamond shape, derived from their very first top mark, and the colour sheme are a

symbol of continuity with our past success.

The tiger head conveys clearly the Malaysian heritage being associated to the two tigers

displayed on national coat of arms. The tiger is thus a symbolic representation of their origins

and stands for the value Proton represent as a national project.

Proton produced Malaysians first car, the Proton Saga, commercially launched on July 9,

1985. Its model line-up includes Proton Iswara (1992), Wira (1993), Staria GTi (1994), Putra

(1995), Tiara (1996), Perdana V6 (1998), Juara (2001), Waja ( 2001), Arena (2002), Gen 2

(2004), Savvy (2005) and Person (2007). The range of 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre engines

satisfies a wide spectrum of customer both locally and abroad. Protons main plant in Shah Alam,

with an area of 923 900 sq metres was or originally designed for a capacity of 80 000 units per

year. In 1997, capacity increased to 230 000 units per year and today the Shah Alam factory is

capable of producing 240 000 vehicles per year. Besides being shareholders, Mitsubishi

Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation are also Potons technical assistance parter and

component supplier. Proton has a total of 11 subsidiaries and 11 associate companies, which

involved in manufacturing, research and development, sales and service activities.In 1993, a

model called Proton Wira was introduced based on the Mitsubishi Lancer/Colt. More than

220,000 units were sold between 1996 and 1998. Proton Perdana based on the Mitsubishi Galant/

Eterna, was first produced in 1995, intender for higher end market. The Proton Waja which

launced early 2001, is the first car model designed internally by Proton.
 Proton made a major steps in upgrading its engineering capabilities with the acquisition

of Lotus Group International Limited, a British automotive engineering company and

manufacturer of luxury sports car in October 1996. Together, Proton and Lotus offer large scale

manufacturing capabilities with world-class engineering expertise.This led to the production of

Proton Gen-2, which was code name Wira Replacement Modul (WRM) before the launch.The

Gen-2 is the first of cars to be manufactured and assembled at the new manufacturing plant in

Tanjung Malim, Perak which is part of Proton City development project. The plant was opened

in 2004. On June 2005, proton introduced at the second model to be manufacturer in Tanjung

Malim, the 1,200cc 5-door supermini, the Proton Savvy. Both The Gen-2 and Savvy, were the

model that MG Rover was looking to rebadged when then the British firm entered into

collaboration talks with Proton. However, these joint-venture talks werw unsuccessful and MG

Rover subsequently collapsed.

In 2007, Proton launced its new sedan as replacement version for Wira Sedan but with

new name, Persona. It was announced On August, 2008 that Proton is developing a new, fuel-

efficient hyrid car to beat rising cost and address environmental concern. As on 3 August 2008,

Proton produced 3 million car since 1985, where the 3 millionth cars is a second generation saga.

Proton cars are making their mark internationally as competitive and innovative

automobiles. They are now being exported to 50 counteries including the highly competitive

United Kingdom and continental Europeans markets. Proton began its exports from Malaysia to

other right hand drive markets like New Zealand in the late 1980s. Proton also produces model in

left-hand drive, for export to continental Europe.

 As a malaysias leading aotumotive manufacturer with 25 years in the automotive sector,

Proton has produced over a dozen car models to date that have sold more than 3 million units and

has exported to several countries. The continuos process of improvement and global

competitiveness has produced one of the largest pools of trained and talented engineers in

malaysia, many of whom are specialised in diverseand highly-specialised areas including

automotive, material and design engineering. Using the resources, technology, innovations,

manpower and design capabilities either made available to or nurtured by Proton. The national

car project has made a significant impact in the automotive industry.