BACKGROUND OF PROTON HOLDINGS BERHAD

Proton is the Malaysian national manuIacturer and it was Malaysia`s only carmaker until
the establishment oI its competitor. Its name is a Malay acronym Ior !e7usahaan 94mobil
ational( PROTON) also known as National Automobil Enterprise. This automobile enterprise
was incorporated in May 7,1983 under the direction oI Malaysia`s Prime Minister, Dato Seri
Mahathir Mohamed is the admirable hero who had originally conceived the idea oI Malaysia car.
Proton Iunctions mainly to manuIacturer, assemble and sell motor vehicles and related products
including accessories, spare parts and other components. It is a core member oI Proton Holdings
Berhad, the holding company which is listed on Bursa Malaysia.
One oI the main objectives Ior the creation oI Proton was to propel Malaysia into the 21
st

century as an industrialized nation, where the acquisition oI technological knowledge, know-how
and expertise, would help the country achieve both short-term and long-term goals. Objective
that includes the development oI indigenous research and development capabilities, world class
manuIacturing and production standards, design capabilities as well as a presence in the global
market. Their vision is to become a successIul Malaysian Automotive ManuIacturer 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 oI pride,
which embodies the positives qualities that have come to be associated with Proton over the
years. The diamond shape, derived Irom their very Iirst top mark, and the colour sheme are a
symbol oI continuity with our past success.

The tiger head conveys clearly the Malaysian heritage being associated to the two tigers
displayed on national coat oI arms. The tiger is thus a symbolic representation oI their origins
and stands Ior the value Proton represent as a national project.
Proton produced Malaysian`s Iirst 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 oI 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre engines
satisIies a wide spectrum oI customer both locally and abroad. Proton`s main plant in Shah Alam,
with an area oI 923 900 sq metres was or originally designed Ior a capacity oI 80 000 units per
year. In 1997, capacity increased to 230 000 units per year and today the Shah Alam Iactory is
capable oI producing 240 000 vehicles per year. Besides being shareholders, Mitsubishi
Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation are also Poton`s technical assistance parter and
component supplier. Proton has a total oI 11 subsidiaries and 11 associate companies, which
involved in manuIacturing, 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 Iirst produced in 1995, intender Ior higher end market. The Proton Waja which
launced early 2001, is the Iirst car model designed internally by Proton.

Proton made a major steps in upgrading its engineering capabilities with the acquisition
oI Lotus Group International Limited, a British automotive engineering company and
manuIacturer oI luxury sports car in October 1996. Together, Proton and Lotus oIIer large scale
manuIacturing capabilities with world-class engineering expertise.This led to the production oI
Proton Gen-2, which was code name Wira Replacement Modul (WRM) beIore the launch.The
Gen-2 is the Iirst oI cars to be manuIactured and assembled at the new manuIacturing plant in
Tanjung Malim, Perak which is part oI Proton City development project. The plant was opened
in 2004. On June 2005, proton introduced at the second model to be manuIacturer 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 Iirm entered into
collaboration talks with Proton. However, these joint-venture talks werw unsuccessIul and MG
Rover subsequently collapsed.
In 2007, Proton launced its new sedan as replacement version Ior Wira Sedan but with
new name, Persona. It was announced On August, 2008 that Proton is developing a new, Iuel-
eIIicient 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 Irom Malaysia to
other right hand drive markets like New Zealand in the late 1980s. Proton also produces model in
leIt-hand drive, Ior export to continental Europe.
As a malaysia`s leading aotumotive manuIacturer 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 oI improvement and global
competitiveness has produced one oI the largest pools oI trained and talented engineers in
malaysia, many oI 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 signiIicant impact in the automotive industry.