Proton X90 Debuts In Bangladesh
The Proton X90 made its debut in Bangladesh on 29 February with an official launch programme in its capital city, Dhaka.
PROTON will be offering 2 variants of the X90 there i.e. the X90 Flagship 6-seater, and the X90 Premium 7-seater. Bangladesh is the 4th export market for the model. To-date, 25 units have already been registered, in less than 2 weeks following its unveiling.
Along with the Proton X70 which is also sold in Bangladesh, and with more orders already confirmed and in the pipeline, PROTON shares optimism for its first New Energy Vehicle (NEV) model to carve out a market niche prior to a local assembly (CKD) programme there starting later in the year.
Speaking to guests and the media during the launch, Dr Li Chunrong, CEO of PROTON, said, “PROTON is confident RANCON Holdings is the perfect partner for Proton to be successful in Bangladesh. They are already establishing a sales and aftersales network and will invest in a manufacturing line to locally assemble Proton vehicles in the future. With more offerings in the pipeline, as well as our commitment to support all facets of the partnership, we aim to be a the top-3 brand in Bangladesh within 3 years.” 
The official launch of the Proton X90 was attended by H.E. Haznah Md. Hashim, High Commissioner of Malaysia to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, and Romo Rouf Chowdhury, Group Managing Director, RANCON Holdings Limited, the exclusive distributor for PROTON in Bangladesh.
A critical component to PROTON achieving its lofty targets in Bangladesh will be the setting up of an assembly line. Aside from allowing its products to qualify for more favourable tax rates, a new plant also encourages the development of skilled local workers while energizing the vendor ecosystem through technology transfers. Operations are expected to begin as early as 2024, with strict production standards enforced to ensure the output matches the quality of vehicles built in Tanjong Malim.
“To ensure product quality in export markets that have local assembly are the same as the vehicles built in Malaysia, PROTON is leaning on its experience of using the Volvo Global Quality Standard, which has been instrumental in improving the quality of our products. We know there is a lot of hard work ahead of us to reach this level and for this partnership to meet its goals, but we are confident that together with our partner, the Proton brand can be a major fixture in Bangladesh,” added Dr Li Chunrong. 
