Proton’s Mini-MPV to be Launched this Saturday

Proton will be launching its first mini-MPV this Saturday at the KL City Centre (KLCC). The 1.1-litre ‘lifestyle vehicle’, adapted from the Mitsubishi Town Box, is most likely to have the name of ‘Juara’, a rumour strongly supported by the fact that the event’s theme will pay tribute to Malaysia’s sports heroes and champions. The Prime Minister will officially launch the model shortly before lunchtime.

The new model, made at the AMM plant in Pekan, Pahang, is one of two vehicles that Proton said it would co-develop with Mitsubishi Motors, the other being the Pajero Mini. The joint development program is said to free Proton from the high cost of paying royalties to Mitsubishi, an unnecessary expense which the company has been trying to get rid of. To date, other than for the in-house developed Waja, Proton has been paying for the use of the Mitsubishi designs going back to the Saga of 1985.

“In the earlier years, Proton took existing Mitsubishi designs and adapted them for our own use, and paid royalties for using the designs. But for this latest deal, we are jointly developing the models and as this will be a shared program, royalties will not be involved,” Proton CEO Tengku Tan Sri Datuk (Dr) Mahaleel said last year. “We now have the expertise to re-engineer products well, as proven by the Satria GTI, and it will cost Mitsubishi less to have the models re-engineered by us than if it does so by itself.”

“So it’s a ‘win-win’ situation for both companies and in the process, we will also be cutting down on costs,” he added.

When the announcement was made last year, it was revealed that the plan was to produce at least 15,000 units a year of each model for an anticipated 60% share of a market segment which now totals around 26,000 units a year (with the likelihood of rising to 30,000 units quite quickly). At that time too, the projected price was indicated as being ‘not more than RM45,000′, a price level which was thought possible due to the more aggressive localisation of components.

“We will be doing it a bit differently for these two models in that the localisation program will be done within a shorter period, even concurrently, so that we will minimise the use of imported parts which now cost more. Our objective is to get local content up to the 80% level as quickly as possible,” said the Proton CEO.

With the mini-MPV, which is not expected to sell in huge numbers, it is clear that Proton is aiming to do niche models, penetrating and dominating little areas of the market. “We are going to focus more on niche models which typically sell on ‘desirability’ rather than price. We get better profit margins with such models compared to the bread-and-butter models which need to be sold in large volumes at low prices,” explained Tengku Mahaleel. “Niche models also allow us to respond more quickly to changes in customer tastes and preferences, which is vital in today’s competitive market.

“However, as a national company, the government still wants Proton to make affordable vehicles for Malaysians so we will still be doing high-volume models,” he added.

Last year, Tengku Mahaleel also mentioned that there was the possibility of Mitsubishi Motors taking the re-engineered models and selling them under its own badge. It is unknown if this intention is still maintained although if it does happen, it would certainly be a feather in Proton’s cap after having been a ‘pupil’ all these years.

As for development of the Pajero Mini version, little is known of the status. However, when it was announced last year, Tengku Mahaleel hinted that it may not necessarily have 4WD and could well have a SUV look but only with front-wheel drive.