Proton bullish about new car to be launched Nov 10

SUBANG JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd is targeting to sell 1,600 units of its new mid-sized four-door sedan, the Inspira, every month. The car, which is essentially a rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer GT, will be launched on Nov 10.

Group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the vehicle, which is already available for booking, would be positioned as a high C-segment/low D-segment vehicle and will be tentatively priced from RM79,888 to RM95,000.

“The best way to launch a car in this segment is through smart collaborations,” said Syed Zainal at the soft launch of the Inspira yesterday, adding that the development of the vehicle was in collaboration with Mitsubishi Motor Corp (MMC) of Japan.

Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir at the soft launch of the Proton Inspira yesterday. As part of the company’s efforts to promote the car, the vehicle (or just the front end of it) will be driven around the country in a truck until its launch on Nov 10.

The Mitsubishi Lancer GT starts from RM120,980. Vehicles within the C-segment include makes such as the Honda Civic or Toyota Altis while the D-segment comprises models such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

Syed Zainal said that while the Inspira was being offered in place of the discontinued Proton Waja, he clarified that the Inspira was not a direct replacement of the Waja.

“This is not a Waja replacement. The Waja has been discontinued. If you look at the overall customer retention of any automotive company, when a car is discontinued, a vehicle that takes its place has to have a much better packaging.

The Proton Inspira. Only the front of the car was unveiled to the media and public on Thursday. Actual launch is on Nov.10

“Customers are demanding. They want to upgrade to a bigger and better car. So we need to offer a better product. So this is what Proton has to do or we will lose out. We’re offering a vehicle in a new segment that is not represented by Proton.”

Syed Zainal said it would cost Proton as much as RM700mil to develop a new car from the ground up but only half the amount via collaborations.

To a question if the Inspira would help Proton regain its number one position (from Perodua) in the passenger car market, Syed Zainal said: “This journey is not about regaining pole position. It’s about making this company grow steadily. Along the way if we become number one, then it’s good.

“But the bigger picture should not be to become number one domestically. The bigger picture is that we want to grow globally and that’s what we want to do.”

Unfortunately, a final version of the Inspira wasn’t available for display and only the front end of the car was revealed to the media.

The name Inspira was chosen via a contest involving Proton employees.