Unsung heroes: the rise and fall of Proton

In the second of what I hope to be an occasional series on the unsung heroes of the motoring world (the first of which is here), I turn my attention to a car manufacturer that may never have produced anything remotely exciting or technologically advanced and is now virtually invisible in this country, but once filled an important niche among those wanting cheap reliable no-frills transport and appealed particularly to the retired generation.

The Malaysian firm of Proton has had a presence in the UK for over 25 years now but you would easily be forgiven for not realising the brand is still active here as 2014 sales totalled a pathetic eleven cars! Yes, you read that right: less than a dozen cars sold in an entire year, and all but one of those were in December after a ten-month drought with no sales at all, so cynics might suggest they were actually dealer-registered in desperation to avoid the acute embarrassment of selling only one car all year. The range may be cheap but is now distinctly on the elderly side, the newest model dating back to 2006, and although there have been promises of all-new products for several years these have yet to materialise, leaving Proton as a tiny and forgotten bit-player in the UK market. It wasn't always that way though...

Japanese technology, Malaysian style

Proton has a fairly short history, having been established in 1983 by a government initiative as Malaysia's sole national car manufacturer, although ten years later the country gained a second in the form of Perodua. A joint venture with Mitsubishi saw Proton's first car introduced in 1985, based on the second-generation Mitsubishi Lancer and named the Saga, and it was with this model that the company launched in the UK in 1989, albeit not under the Saga name, the cars being known simply as the Proton 1.3 and 1.5. The Mitsubishi heritage was very obvious in the saloon version and the hatchback, known as Aeroback, was developed by Proton themselves but still bore a close resemblance to the Lancer on which it was based.

The Lynx effect. This was a special edition created by the UK importer with a smart set of alloys and a bodykit tacked on. (Photo: Andy Campbell)

Although nothing to write home about in terms of styling or technology, despite the manufacturer's tagline of 'Japanese technology, Malaysian style', Protons were cheap and found a ready market, setting the record for the fastest-selling new make of car ever to enter the UK and winning a number of awards for their value for money. The principal competition at the time would have been eastern European models such as the Skoda Estelle, Lada Riva and FSO Polonez, and the modern front-wheel drive Proton was a great improvement over these ageing designs, thus endearing itself to the retired demographic for whom reliability and good value were the key selling points. This original model was facelifted in 1992, becoming the Saga Iswara in its native country and Proton MPI for the UK; it disappeared here in 1995 as the newer models established themselves, but remained in production until 2008 to become Proton's longest-running and most successful design.

Adopting a new Persona

The Proton range expanded upwards in 1993 with the launch of a bigger, better-equipped and more modern car. Known as the Wira (Malay for 'hero') on the home market but re-christened Persona in the UK, this was again based on a Mitsubishi Lancer with minor styling changes, this time the larger fourth generation of 1991. Initially available in the same four-door saloon and five-door Aeroback body styles as the MPI, the Persona platform proved versatile and spawned a number of variants over the years: the Persona Compact (later known as the Satria) was a smaller three-door hatchback based on the Mitsubishi Colt, while a smart but almost forgotten two-door Persona coupe (or Putra) was launched in 1996. Last but not least was the Jumbuck pickup, produced from 2003 to 2006 and particularly popular among farming communities due to its simplicity and ruggedness.

The Wira as immortalised in the Network Q RAC Rally game.

The Proton Wira even had some motorsport success, although it was nowhere near as successful as the Lancer that had spawned it, a Group N version being campaigned by Karamjit Singh in the World Rally Championship in the mid-1990s and featuring in the 1996 Network Q RAC Rally computer game. In 2001 the Persona name was discontinued and the UK fell into line with other markets in using the Wira branding for the last three years before the model was deleted. There were actually a couple of other Proton models in production at this time but British readers are unlikely to have ever heard of them as they were only sold on the Malaysian domestic market. The Tiara was a rebadged Citroen AX introduced in 1996 when Proton set up a second joint venture with Peugeot-Citroen to reduce its reliance on Mitsubishi technology, and the Perdana was a large V6 executive car based on the Mitsubishi Eterna or Sigma and intended to compete with the likes of the Toyota Camry

Lotus flowers

A surprising development in 1996 was Proton's acquisition of an 80% stake in Lotus, the troubled British sports car manufacturer that had been through several recent changes of ownership, this increasing to 100% in 2003. Lotus remains fully owned by Proton today, although this connection has seemingly not been exploited by the parent company in recent years, a missed opportunity as Lotus now has an excellent reputation for drivers' cars but its success has not been shared in any way by Proton in the UK and the glamour of the name could surely lend some much-needed excitement to the latter's dowdy old range.

Lotus has however been involved in developing the ride and handling of all Proton cars since the Wira, its most notable achievement being the Satria GTi. Undoubtedly the most exciting car ever made by Proton and a considerable departure from its core demographic, this hot hatch received rave reviews at the time of its launch in 1999 thanks to the Lotus-tuned suspension. It still has a cult following today and may one day become the first true classic Proton.

The Satria GTi was surprisingly good thanks to the Lotus influence.

Police and the BTCC

2001 saw the launch of the first car to be developed entirely in-house by Proton, only engines being supplied by Mitsubishi. Known as the Impian in the UK but Waja elsewhere, what should have heralded a new era of Malaysian engineering is unfortunately regarded as the car that started Proton's decline in this country. It was positioned further upmarket than the Wira, but was outclassed in this very demanding market sector even at launch and remained on sale until 2008, long after most of its competitors had been replaced and left it far behind, only the high level of equipment and modest prices giving it appeal to a small core of buyers.  

Plod Proton. Humberside's Impians were an odd choice of police car.

Proton never really seemed to achieve much in the fleet market, the vast majority of sales being to private buyers, but a notable exception is the fleet of Impian patrol cars operated by Humberside Police, a very unusual choice for police work and unique to this force but obviously successful as some are believed still to be in use. The Impian also made an appearance in motorsport, the factory Team Petronas Syntium Proton running two cars in the British Touring Car Championship between 2002 and 2004. Driven initially by David Leslie and Phil Bennett, who were replaced for the final season by South African Shaun Watson-Smith and Malaysian Fariqe Hairuman, the team achieved only modest success, not helped by the 2002 cars reportedly being bought as road cars from a local dealer and rebuilt to race specification due to difficulties importing bodyshells from Malaysia!

A Savvy decision?

Three other models were introduced to this country during the 2000s, all developed in-house, and it is these now-ageing designs that form Proton UK's current range. The Wira was replaced in 2004 by the Gen-2 hatchback, the first car to use a Proton-designed engine and thus sever all ties with Mitsubishi. Although discontinued on the domestic market in 2012, the Gen-2 remains in production for export, but with only around 1500 built per year and the majority of those sold in Turkey and Egypt, it is a rare sight in the UK. Interestingly, it isn't widely known that MG Rover held talks with Proton regarding a joint venture; this ultimately came to nothing as MGR formed links with the Chinese instead, but it was proposed that the Gen-2 and Savvy would be manufactured under licence at Longbridge, a fascinating might-have-been scenario.

Proton's second all-new product was the Savvy, a distinctive-looking supermini launched in 2005 as a belated replacement for the Tiara and, unlike its predecessor, also offered on export markets. Amazingly, Savvy production reportedly ceased as long ago as 2011 but it is still listed as available new on the Proton UK website, such is the volume of unsold stock! The Satria Neo is the newest of the current range but even this dates back to 2006, when it replaced the original Satria, formerly known here as the Persona Compact. Less than 700 of these have been registered in the UK over the last seven years and I have never knowingly seen one. 

Distinctive looks and low prices aren't enough to keep the Savvy selling.

What went wrong? 

Proton's current UK sales volumes are a far cry from its heyday of the 1990s and clearly unsustainable but the company seems to have lost all interest in this market, maintaining only a token presence with a poorly-promoted and ageing range that has little to recommend it. A number of more modern products are available overseas, including the Prevé saloon, Suprima and Iriz hatchbacks and Exora MPV, but despite becoming established elsewhere and several years of promises these have yet to be announced here and are simply shown as 'coming soon' on the Proton UK website with no launch dates given. Until these long-awaited new models appear the company's fortunes are unlikely to change and its decline is quite remarkable, from the biggest selling new marque of 1989 to one of the smallest sellers of all just 25 years later, completely forgotten and outsold even by specialist manufacturers.

As well as the manufacturer's lack of interest, a couple of other factors could be blamed for this situation. Firstly, the quality of the later indigenous products was said not to be up to the same standards as the original Mitsubishi-based cars, and secondly the budget car market in the UK has become much more competitive in recent years, Proton's original rivals having largely disappeared and been replaced by a new generation of higher-quality vehicles. Perhaps the most significant of these are the Korean trio of Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo/Chevrolet, who have largely conquered Proton's traditional core demographic of the retired driver with affordable, reliable and attractive ranges that make the Protons seem very dated. The Lotus brand is a great asset to Proton, with a respected image as a producer of exciting sports cars, but the parent company has failed to capitalise on this and allow some of the Lotus glamour to rub off on the dull Proton range that badly needs an injection of charisma.

Will we ever see the Prevé in the UK?

I haven't seen a first-generation Proton for years and I suspect the scrappage scheme was responsible for the demise of many, as the older drivers who in many cases had probably owned these now virtually-worthless cars from new took advantage of the £2000 discount to buy something new. There are a handful of Gen-2s and Savvys in my town and Jumbucks can still be found, especially in rural areas, but Personas are also now quite uncommon, although a friend owned one until recently. Just to prove not all Proton drivers fit the stereotype and end this piece on an unexpected note, she is a pretty young cheerleader, as far from the traditional Proton demographic as it is possible to get!

Do you have any Proton stories? Or are you part of that elite group who bought a new one last year? Please do get in touch with your Proton-related comments.