PROTON Expands International Presence With CKD Operations In Egypt
PROTON is expanding its global reach with the commencement of a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) operations in Egypt. At a recent flag-off ceremony, 120 units of left-hand-drive (LHD) Proton Saga CKD packs began its trip to Egypt.
“Export sales are an important area of focus for PROTON in our efforts to achieve our long term goals. As the Malaysian automotive market reaches a natural saturation point, future volume growth potential will come from overseas markets where consumer demand is expected to be on an upward trend in the future. The addition of CKD operations in Egypt brings the number of plants involved in CKD and SKD activities for PROTON outside of Malaysia to 5,” said PROTON Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Roslan Abdullah.
PROTON has been active in the Egyptian automotive market since 2004 through its partner, Ezz Elarab. In that time, nearly 17,000 Completely Built-Up (CBU) units have been shipped to Egypt. With local assembly targeted to begin in December 2024 at an Ezz Elarab Elsewedy Automotive Factories (ESAF) plant, the company expects to ship 1,400 units in 2024 and aims to increase production to 5,000 units by 2025.
“Locally assembling the Proton Saga in Egypt, allows the company to meet the aim of the Egyptian government to limit the number of CBU imports into the country while also encouraging local assembly activities. This in turn creates the potential for greater future capacity expansion in the country, especially after we launch new models, with the aim to make Egypt the hub for Proton vehicle exports in the North African region,” said Steven Xu, Director of International Sales, PROTON.
PROTON expects CKD operations in Egypt to generate RM570 million in revenue from CKD packs by 2026, with an additional RM20 million anticipated from parts exports. The Egyptian government stands to benefit as well, with local duties and taxes projected to bring in RM180 million over the same period.
“PROTON is the leading exporter of vehicles in Malaysia and while our current volume is approximately 3% of our total sales numbers, efforts are being made to increase that number by focusing on multiple core areas. For instance, PROTON engage with its vendors to reduce component costs and while also inviting them to collaborate with companies in other countries to develop supply chains for our overseas production activities. This will pay dividends in the long term not only for the company and its vendors, but also for the development of the automotive industries in these foreign markets,” added Steven Xu.
Attendees of the event included notable figures such as H.E. Ragai Tawfik Said Nasr, the Egyptian Ambassador to Malaysia, and Datuk Hanafi Sakri, Deputy Secretary General (Industry) from the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry. Key partners like Amr Abou-Elseoud of Ezz Elarab Elsewedy Automotive Factories were also hosted by Tan Sri Syed Faisal Albar, Chairman of PROTON, alongside Roslan Abdullah.
