Intro: Malaysian prime minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed conceived the National Car Project back in the early 1980s. Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (aka Proton) was established by HICOM Bhd, Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Corporation with state support. The plant and the technical expertise came from Mitsubishi. The Japanese company provided 70 per cent of the capital in the form of yen loans and took 30 per cent of the equity. Hicom sold its shares to Petronas in 2000.
The first car, called the Proton Saga rolled off the assembly line in July, 1985. The line-up was expanded with the Citroen AX-based Tiara (now discontinued) and a new generation of Mitsubishi-based cars during the mid-1990s.
Original capacity was 80,000 units per year. For the first few years production was not even close to that but then sales picked up and with the completion of the Medium Volume Factory in July 1997, production capacity has increased to 230,000 units per year. Proton is now exporting its products to many countries, although they are not present in Europe any more.
In September, 1996 Proton upgraded its engineering capabilities with the acquisition of Lotus Group International Ltd.
In 2004 Proton introduced its first self-designed car, called the Gen.2 which was partly developed by Lotus. In March, 2004 Mitsubishi sold its stakes in Proton so a new chapter has been opened in the history of the company.
Right now, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Government Investment Agency is the biggest share-holder with about 35 per cent, including 7.93 per cent of former Mitsubishi shares. Petronas holds over 11 per cent of shares. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. holds another 7.9 per cent. |
