Category Proton

Proton has announced its November 2023 sales report, with 12,296 units (domestic and export) sold last month, down 476 units (or about 3.7%) from October 2023. This brings the carmaker’s year-to-date (YTD) total to 141,900 units, which effectively means it has surpassed last year’s tally of 141,432 units, and there’s still one more month to go.
Of the 141,900 units delivered, 138,876 units were sold domestically while the remaining 3,024 units were for export markets. Proton points out that the YTD figure represents a 12% year-on-year increase and sees it command a market share of 19.7%.
Focusing on individual models, the newly launched S70 is being well received by the market, with over 900 bookings collected per week. The company said during the sedan’s launch in late November that it is targeting 5,000 bookings by the end of the year, and as per the latest announcement, it has exceeded 3,000 bookings. However, there’s no mention on how many units have been delivered so far.
Moving on to models with actual sales numbers, the Saga is once again the brand’s best-selling car with 6,349 units delivered last month for a YTD total of 64,155 units. The Saga continues to sit second to the Perodua Bezza in the A-segment sedan race for the month.
Meanwhile, 1,902 units of the Persona were sold in November 2023 for a YTD total of 22,557 units, which places it as the third best-selling B-segment sedan in the country. As for the Iriz, 518 units were sold last month (YTD 7,151 units) f..

Proton has assured S70 buyers that there will be enough spare parts for the sedan as it has implemented new measures to ensure stock availability. This was revealed by Wan Hazran Wan Mustafa, Proton’s aftersales director, during a press conference at the launch of the S70 earlier this week.
“[We have taken] significant action to improve parts supply and also our warehouse capacity. We have opened a new regional parts centre in Sarawak. Besides that, we also expanded our central region warehouses to store more parts. We also streamlined our order processing to handle overseas shipments and maintain a larger stock of critical items for quicker repairs,” said Wan Hazran.
“Additionally, we have launched the Proton Operational Excellence (POE) programme. This is to level up our dealer operation management capability. In this programme, the dealer will be evaluated based on six focus areas, which are performance, customer satisfaction, parts management, customer management, manpower and compliance,” he added.
“With this platform, the dealer will be evaluated to deliver the best customer satisfaction. This has been a challenge for us to give our best commitment in our ability to address all the challenges promptly and professionally. In this case, we are improving our aftersales, especially for parts supply and so far, I believe there are not much issues on part supply. This is our commitment to all Proton customers that we are improving to be the best..

The Proton S70 was launched earlier this week and is offered in four variants with prices ranging from RM73,800 to RM94,800 on-the-road without insurance. Regardless of variant, the S70 is powered by a 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-three petrol engine, which is also used by the X50.
Rated at 150 PS (148 hp or 110 kW) and 226 Nm of torque, the port-injected mill is paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission driving the front wheels. With the sedan and SUV sharing the same powertrain, are the maintenance costs for both similar too? Well, let’s find out.
As with past maintenance cost comparisons, a little disclaimer before we proceed. In addition to the S70 and X50, we’re also including Proton’s other sedan – the Persona – to illustrate the difference in maintenance costs when moving up a segment in Proton’s line-up.
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The Toyota Vios, Honda City (excluding the hybrid variant) and Nissan Almera are also joining in because while Proton labels the S70 as a C-segment model, its price range puts it well within proximity of the Japanese sedans, which occupy the B-segment space.
At the time of writing, these figures were taken directly from the MyProton app as well as the official websites of the involved car brands. A price rundown for all the models mentioned here is as follows:

Comparing the S70 to the X50 first, the former is cheaper to maintain over 100,000 km/60 months by RM562.41. While there are many service items that are shar..

Click to enlargeRemember the dark blue Proton S70 Premium X with the bodykit that we showed you from the media preview? Proton’s new three-box sedan is handsome in a traditional, old-school kind of way, but it’s a pretty tall car with high sides – in fact, all of the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 are lower than the S70.
If you want to make the S70 look more ground-hugging, the bodykit is available as an option. The RM3,130 Aerokit Pacakge includes front and rear skirts, side skirts and a boot spoiler. At the launch, Proton announced that the bodykit will be complimentary for Flagship X buyers if they are among the first 3,000 buyers.
That makes the RM94,800 Flagship X look good value next to the RM89,800 Flagship. The RM5,000 difference gets you the bodykit (which is worth RM3,130), a sunroof and dashcam. Flagship X buyers can also opt for an exclusive Quartz Black paintjob.

Click to enlargeThe Utility Package includes coil mats, door scuff plates and a boot tray for RM455. The RM1,020 Urban Package has door visors, a dashcam and floor lights, which are basically blue LED footwell lights. The RM2,660 Premium Package combines Utility and Urban, and throws in a Proton X-Watch. The smartwatch’s RRP is RM1,499 so it’s a good deal if you’re already thinking of the Utility and Urban packages.
If you’re feeling flush, the Premium Package and the bodykit will set you back a combined RM5,790. As such, there’s not much point in going down the Flagship + options rout..

The battle between specs and price is eternal. Just when you thought that variant A is good enough, you sit in variant B, see the upgrades and your head is turned. “I can get all these for only RMxk more, hmmm…” It can’t be just me – come on, own up!
That was what happened as I played imaginary car buyer at the Proton S70 launch. We’ve already seen and tested the Flagship, so I dashed straight to the base Executive variant to check out if it’s acceptable. It is – the grey fabric seats (all other variants get leatherette) has a melange-like look that’s nice, and the overall vibe of the base model – especially inside – doesn’t feel too cheap as they didn’t “de-trim” it like in Perodua’s entry variants.
Not bad at all for RM73,800. And then I went to the Premium. For just RM6k more (RM79,800) you get so many things that aren’t luxuries, but essentials in 2023 – things like LED headlamps, reverse camera, front parking sensors and leather steering wheel (the latter two aren’t essentials, I know, but this is supposed to be a C-segment sedan) were all available on the Perodua Axia I just drove.

And the S70’s most fancy exterior element, the full-width rear LED signatures, start from the Premium. So, the Premium is where it starts then.
And then you see the RM89,800 Flagship with its 17-inch rims (this should be the minimum for the S70’s tall body), digital instrument panel and large central touchscreen (the screens bring an advanced, premium ca..

With the Proton S70 now having been officially launched, the national carmaker’s latest sedan model has scored 1,200 bookings from launch. Find out more about the Proton S70 in detail, along with our first impressions of the car.
This figure is expected to increase dramatically after pricing has been revealed, which has been announced to be from RM73,800 for the base Executive variant, through the Premium at RM79,800, the Flagship at RM89,800, and up to RM94,800 for the range-topping Flagship X (all prices are on-the-road without insurance).
Demand for the S70 is expected to reach 5,000 bookings by the end of this year, and the spread of demand between variants is expected to be 40% for the Premium, 40% for the Flagship and 20% for the Flagship X. However, more conversions of prior bookings from other variants in to bookings for the top Flagship X are expected, given the announcement of pricing as well as the free bodykit offered.
Proton S70 FlagshipTo recap, the Proton S70 is based on the Geely Emgrand, and so it shares its Geely BMA architecture with the Proton X50. While that car gets a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine and CVT combination in other markets, Malaysia’s S70 gets a 1.5L port-injected three-cylinder engine with 150 PS and 226 Nm, paired with a dual-clutch transmission.
Notable kit on the Flagship variant includes the ADAS suite which adds on Autonomous Emergency Braking with Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Lane Departur..

The entry-level RM74k Proton S70 Executive – frontProton expects to the new S70 sedan – officially launched yesterday – to outsell the X50, as declared by VP of sales Edmund Lim in the press conference at the Axiata Arena. That’s some goal, seeing how popular the SUV is in the market.
Lim explained that sales of the B-segment SUV is currently around 2,000 units per month, whereas the target for the S70 sedan – which shares its BMA platform and 1.5L MPI turbo engine with the X50 – is between 2,000 to 3,000 units per month. If successful, the S70 will take over from the X50 as Proton’s second best-selling model after the Saga.
Where does 2,000 units put the S70 – priced from RM73,800 to RM94,800 – in the B-segment sedan arena? Not enough to topple the Honda City from the top of the B-segment mini league based on current figures, as it’s averaging around 2,400 units a month.

The entry-level RM74k Proton S70 Executive – rearHowever, there can only be so many car buyers at the same price range every month, and if more people opt for the S70 over the two similarly-priced Japanese-badged sedans in the City and Vios, the Proton may end up outselling them too. Only time will tell.
But sales victory in the C-segment sedan market is virtually assured. With sales of 2,000 units a month, the S70 will outsell current leader Honda Civic by many folds, which is a given when the car is priced like a City. This is pretty much the same scenario..

The 2024 Proton S70 is now officially launched, earlier than the expected December date. Unlike previous Geely-Proton models, the gestation period for the new sedan was pretty short. First official details and images surfaced on November 1, and the media preview happened shortly after that. From that session, we gave you all you needed to know about the S70 except for the price, so here we go.
The Proton S70 comes in four variants, and they are the Executive, Premium, Flagship and Flagship X (Standard variant name dropped). The entry-level Executive kicks off the range at RM73,800, while the Premium sells for RM79,800. For many, the Flagship is where the S70 range truly starts, and it’s yours for RM89,800. If you want a sunroof, dashcam and the exclusive Quartz Black paint, the Flagship X is priced at RM94,800. All are on-the-road without insurance.
As expected, the S70’s price range puts in right smack in Honda City and Toyota Vios territory, and those two are household names in the B-segment sedan market. But Proton is calling the S70 a C-segment sedan, with a ’70’ badge to match. By the way, if you want to jump straight to the specs, we’ve listed it all down in point form – scroll down.
The Great Debate
So, is the S70 a B- or C-segment sedan? Well, it’s based on the Geely Emgrand, which sits on the X50’s BMA platform, and the car has a 1.5 litre NA engine/CVT combo elsewhere – 1.5L CVT is of course the ASEAN B-segment default set by the Toyota Vios ..

Proton Edar, the national automaker’s local distribution arm, has announced that it is selling its flagship Crystal showroom and COSE service centre at the brand’s Shah Alam headquarters to MBf Automobile. Effective December 1, the outlet will be known as Proton MBf Automobile COE 4S, with no change in operational aspects.
While it may sound surprising as to why Edar is selling its flagship dealership attached to the HQ to a party outside the group, it’s not really the case, because the company has slowly been moving away from direct sales, having begun selling off its dealerships to third parties in 2020 and shifting to a distributor model like Honda and more recently, Toyota.
In April 2020, it was reported that Proton was set to undergo a restructuring exercise that would see it split up its sales and car assembly divisions, and was planning to sell dealerships under its wholly-owned Proton Edar unit to Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON), and the rest of its dealerships en bloc to others.

By November that year, the suggestion had turned to fact, with EON – which is wholly owned by DRB-Hicom –taking over nine Proton dealerships from Proton Edar, including four 4S (sales, service, spares and spray) centres and three 3S centres, with four branches located in the central region and two each in Johor and Penang.
With the sale of its dealerships to EON, it was pretty much a full circle act for Proton. EON was established in 1984 to distribute Proton car..