Malaysia first national car-maker, Proton Holdings Berhad, has announced that it has set up a new wholly-owned subsidiary to drive forward its export business. The automaker confirmed that Proton International Corporation Sdn Bhd (PIC) has been established, providing it with greater flexibility when dealing with international markets. The new company is led by Edmund Lim Meng Thong, formerly the director of Proton’s International Sales Division.
Proton sees export sales as a key driver of future growth, and PIC has been tasked with expanding the automaker’s global footprint, with a key focus on expanding into new “Global South” markets while continuing to oversee and develop sales and marketing efforts in existing overseas markets.
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The new company has been set the target of expanding Proton’s overseas sales tenfold over the next five years, from just under 5,000 units in 2024. It aims to sell 6,000 vehicles overseas in 2025, with volumes expected to double to 12,000 units in 2026.
Proton’s top-selling overseas model in the last several years has been the Saga sedan, followed by the Geely-based Proton X50 and X70. The company’s newly-launched e.MAS 7 battery electric vehicle (BEV), also based on a Geely model, has also become a key export model with 916 shipments so far this year.
