Proton cars for sale

Overview

Proton is Malaysia’s national carmaker, and for Australians it is mostly a memory: cheap, simple cars sold here through the 1990s and 2000s. Its more lasting significance is that Proton owned Lotus for two decades, which is why some Protons handled far better than their price suggested.

History

Established on 7 May 1983 by Mahathir Mohamad as a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors. The first car, the Saga, launched in July 1985 based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore and sold more than 1.2 million units through 2008. Proton took 74 per cent of the Malaysian market at its 1993 peak before losing the lead to Perodua in 2006.

It bought 80 per cent of Lotus in October 1996 for £51 million and held it until 2017, when control passed to Geely and Etika Automotive. Geely took a 49.9 per cent stake in Proton itself the same year. Exports reached over 70 countries, with the UK the strongest market at around 141,209 cumulative sales before withdrawal in 2014.

In Australia

Proton sold here for 22 years, from 1995 to 2017. The Jumbuck — a small, cheap, car-based ute with no real equivalent from anyone else — was its most distinctive local product, and the Satria GTi its most fondly remembered: a light hot hatch whose chassis had been tuned by Lotus while Proton owned it, which is why it drove far better than its badge suggested.

The brand was withdrawn in 2017 because its ageing model range no longer met Australian emissions requirements, in the same year Geely took its stake. Proton has since signalled an intention to return to right-hand-drive export markets including Australia around the end of this decade, though nothing is confirmed.

Buying a used Proton

There is no local dealer network, so servicing falls to independents. Much of the mechanical hardware is Mitsubishi-derived, which helps considerably with parts — but Proton-specific trim and electronics are effectively unobtainable new, so buy a complete car.

The Satria GTi is the one with a following and the one worth paying for; check for accident damage and modification, since these were cheap performance cars driven accordingly. Everything else in the range is bought purely on condition and price.