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KUALA LUMPUR (September 15): Proton Holdings Bhd, the 51.1% -owned unit of DRB-Hicom Bhd, will receive orders for its X50 crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) tomorrow.
In a statement, the brand said customers can reserve their vehicles by paying RM500 in showrooms starting tomorrow.
“Preview sessions for clients will be held at four separate locations beginning September 19, although they will be closed-door events,” he said.
The X50 rolled off the production line at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant for the first time today. The plant saw an extension of RM1.2 billion in 2019.
The new Proton SUV will be assembled locally at the plant and is expected to have an annual purchase intent of RM 1.8 billion among the domestic auto supplier community.
Combined with another RM 1 billion in parts purchases for the Proton X70, the combined annual contributions to car suppliers for the two Proton SUVs will be around RM 2.8 billion.
“As a company that manufactures locally, Proton’s growth means that more money is injected into Malaysia’s auto supplier ecosystem, generating more jobs and creating wealth. This is vital at a time when Covid-19 has affected significantly to the Malaysian economy, “said Proton Chairman Datuk Seri. Syed Faisal Albar.
The X50 is the second completely new vehicle developed after Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd entered the DRB unit in 2017 by acquiring a 49.9% stake. The first model was the X70, launched in December 2018.
In a separate statement, Geely noted that the X50 is based on Geely Bin Yue (in China) or Cool Ray (global markets). The newly launched car was developed using the Chinese automaker’s B-segment modular architecture platform.
“It uses the full portfolio of Geely Holding technologies that were developed jointly with Volvo at the Jointly Operated Geely Holding European R&D Center CEVT. These shared technologies will further assist Proton with the rejuvenation of its brand as it the brand continues to grow based on its technology offerings in Malaysia and the broader region of Southeast Asia, “said Geely.
He added that the new factory extension in Tanjung Malim has a flexible production process that allows both the X70 and X50 to be produced.
DRB-Hicom shares ended 1.95% or four sen higher at RM2.09, valued at about RM4.04 billion. He saw 1.37 million shares traded.
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