Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad (PROTON) was established on 7 May 1983 to sell motor vehicle spare parts and components. With the idea of a vehicle specifically for Malaysia in mind, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Tun Mahathir Muhammed, developed Malaysia's first national car, the Proton Saga, together with Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad, on 9 July 1985. Proton's first factory is located in the Shah Alam district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with an area of 923,900 m2. The Shah Alam factory was designed with a production capacity of 80,000 vehicles for the first year. In 1997, the factory's capacity was increased to 230,000 units per year. Today, the Shah Alam factory has a production capacity of 240,000 units. Mitsubishi Motors was Proton's engine technology partner between 1985 and 1996. Proton receives support from 11 different companies regarding its research, development, sales and service network. On December 30, 1996, the Shah Alam factory produced its 1 millionth vehicle. In October of the same year, Proton took an important step towards improving its engineering capabilities by purchasing LOTUS Group International, a British automobile brand and technology engineering firm. With its superior Lotus engineering, Proton is one of the few manufacturers in the world with large-scale production capabilities. Proton, which is now highly competitive, exports to over 50 countries including European markets. With the harmonious and unwavering commitment of its customers, business partners, shareholders, government agencies and employees, Proton is achieving its goal of becoming a successful international automotive manufacturer. With this feature, Proton contributes greatly to the efforts to reach Malaysia of 2020. Proton has embarked on a new era to further increase its current success graph following the acquisition of a majority of its shares by DRB-HICOM, another shareholder and one of the companies with the largest commercial assets and potential in Malaysia, at the end of the first quarter of 2011. The first fruits of this new era began to be seen with the Preve and Suprima models, Proton's first global models. The Malaysian Automobile Manufacturing Industry, whose foundations have been laid very solidly in the last 10 years, is rapidly progressing strongly and one of the biggest pioneers of this is Proton.