Lotus, the historic British marque reversed from a £2m after-tax profit to a £14.6m loss in the year to March, according to the car manufacturer's latest accounts. This was driven by increased costs as its owner, the Malaysian car company Proton, invested in it through the recession.
The company took on 185 staff to prepare for last July's launch of the Evora, its first new model in 14 years. And in an effort to boost turnover, new variants of existing models were introduced and the dealer network expanded to cover more emerging markets including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Taiwan.
But the downturn has taken its toll as Lotus produced only 2,202 cars during the year compared with 2,649 in 2008. Revenue from sales and services fell 5.9 per cent to £73.7m but this was offset by growth in Lotus's high-tech engineering consultancy division which left revenues for the year up 1.9 per cent to £110.9m. However, the increased investment battered the company's profit margin as costs rose 16.6 per cent to £124.2m.
Parent company loans from Proton increased nearly six-fold and bank loans rose by a factor of 10 to bring total borrowing to £72m. Shareholders' funds slid from £17m to a deficit of £4.5m, but the accounts state that another Proton subsidiary will support Lotus as necessary for another 12 months. With deliveries of the Evora beginning last June, the road ahead should be smoother.
The Evora, the world's first mid- engine, four-seater supercar, was launched to great acclaim at last year's British International Motorshow. It will debut in the US early next year with an automatic variant, following in 2011.
North and South America are Lotus's largest markets bringing in £36.2m, while growing sales in Asia and Africa demonstrate its success at attracting emerging markets. In contrast, the UK is not only Lotus's second-smallest market but it is the only one which declined during the year shrinking by 5.6 per cent to provide £24.5m of the company's turnover.
Showing posts with label kereta proton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kereta proton. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Proton Car Sales In UK Exceed Full Year Target
Proton car sales in the United Kingdom (UK) has surpassed the company's full year target by 10 per cent despite a weaker demand for new cars in the country due to global economic slowdown.
Proton Cars (UK) Ltd managing director Brian Collier said the company's target had been to sell about 1,000 units this year.
The larger base of repeat customers and efforts to keep costs down helped the company to surpass its full year target, he said.
"We are actually 10 per cent ahead of our target, which is extremely nice given the difficult market condition here," he told Malaysian journalists here Wednesday.
He said car sales in the UK market was expected to drop to 1.7 million this year from 2.4 million two years ago.
Currently, Proton sells four models namely Gen.2, Persona, Satria and Savvy in the UK market. Its best selling model is the Savvy that makes up about 40 per cent of total sales.
Proton has sold about 150,000 cars in the UK since entering the market in 1989.
Collier said Proton Cars also sells cars that use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the UK market as demand for LPG vehicles was on the increase following the hike in petrol prices and environmental concerns.
"The only cars that we have converted to LPG are Persona and Gen.2," he said.
Last year, Proton Cars sold 150 LPG cars and its targets is to sell 200 units this year.
Proton Cars (UK) Ltd managing director Brian Collier said the company's target had been to sell about 1,000 units this year.
The larger base of repeat customers and efforts to keep costs down helped the company to surpass its full year target, he said.
"We are actually 10 per cent ahead of our target, which is extremely nice given the difficult market condition here," he told Malaysian journalists here Wednesday.
He said car sales in the UK market was expected to drop to 1.7 million this year from 2.4 million two years ago.
Currently, Proton sells four models namely Gen.2, Persona, Satria and Savvy in the UK market. Its best selling model is the Savvy that makes up about 40 per cent of total sales.
Proton has sold about 150,000 cars in the UK since entering the market in 1989.
Collier said Proton Cars also sells cars that use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the UK market as demand for LPG vehicles was on the increase following the hike in petrol prices and environmental concerns.
"The only cars that we have converted to LPG are Persona and Gen.2," he said.
Last year, Proton Cars sold 150 LPG cars and its targets is to sell 200 units this year.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Proton Persona Prices
The much talked about proton family, Proton Persona finally launched today at Proton Head Office, Shah Alam. With a booking more than 2,500 unit, this model for me will give a big success to Proton. With a nice design, coupled with many extras such as Air Bag, ABS, spacious room and good price, more booking are expected in future. No wonders, PROTON targeting at least 4,000 unit booking a month.
The price (from motortrader)
CONFIRMED PRICES
(Price w/o insurance + insurance premium = OTR price)
Persona 1.6 Auto H-Line: RM54,186.50 + RM1,613.50 = RM55,800.00
Persona 1.6 Manual M-Line: RM48,342.50 + RM1,457.50 = RM49,800.00
Persona 1.6 Auto M-Line: RM51,264.50 + RM1,535.50 = RM52,800.00
Persona 1.6 Manual Base-Line: RM43,671.50 + RM1,327.50 = RM44,999.00*
Persona 1.6 Auto Base Line: RM46,593.50 + RM1,405.50 = RM47,999.00*
Persona 1.6 Manual Base-Line: RM44,095.50 + RM1,353.50 = RM45,449.00
Persona 1.6 Auto Base-Line: RM47,017.50 + RM1,431.50 = RM48,449.00
Looking at the price, I am sure Persona will give its competitor (vios, city) a run for their money. And this model will also be the WAJA, Gen 2 killer … :)
I heard also tonite NAZA will introduce their new model. Wait for it
Monday, October 5, 2009
LPG model set to drive Proton UK sales
It’s tapping rising demand for dual-fuel cars in Britain
NORFOLK (England): Proton Cars UK Ltd (Proton UK) is banking on its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered cars to help drive sales in Britain, according to its managing director Brian Collier.
He spoke of an emerging niche market for the Proton Gen-2 1.6 litre ecoLogic which runs on either LPG or petrol in the wake of rising fuel prices.
Collier said there had been an increasing demand for the dual-fuel model which costs the same as the petrol version but requires half the price to run and is kinder to the environment.
Proton Cars UK MD Brian Collier showing the LPG conversion fitting neatly into the original design after briefing for Malaysian journalists at the Park Farm Country Hotel & Leisure at Hethersett, Norwich.
“Next year is going to be all about LPG cars and repeat customers,” he told Malaysian journalists at a briefing at the Park Farm Country Hotel & Leisure in Hethersett, Norwich, on Wednesday.
The briefing was organised by Proton Holdings Bhd in conjunction with the royal visit to the Lotus plant headquarters by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah today.
A subsidiary of Proton Holdings which acquired Lotus in 1996, Proton UK has sold about 150,000 vehicles in Britain since 1989.
Last year, about 1,500 units were sold through the company’s 80 dealers across Britain but Proton UK has revised its target to 1,000 this year due to the global economic slowdown.
Collier said they sold 150 LPG vehicles last year and expected to hit 200 this year, adding that the Humberside police force has a fleet of 100 such units.
He said these vehicles were sought after by corporate clients including companies with small fleets and taxi operators that now accounted for about half their total sales.
“Britons are very cost-conscious, especially during the economic downturn,” he said, citing petrol price of around £1.10 a litre against 50 to 55 pence for a litre of LPG.
Proton UK, he added, was the only manufacturer in Britain which did not charge extra for the LPG conversion, which usually costs about £2,000.
Collier also singled out the Savvy as Britain’s best-selling Proton car among its models including the Satria, Gen-2 ecoLogic and Gen-2 Persona.
He said Britons loved small economic cars such as the Savvy for fuel economy and its low emission which the annual car tax was based upon.
The Savvy naturally fits into this A and B segments which dominate the British market, he said, adding about 400 Savvy were sold this year alone.
Savvy is priced just under £8,000 but with a £2,000 discount under Britain’s car scrappage scheme, it costs just below £6,000, according to Collier. In fact, some brand new cars are selling for £5,000 or less, an indication of the tough market, with car manufacturers across Europe badly hit, he said.
British vehicle sales had plunged from 2.4 million units two years ago to about 1.7 million this year while Spain was down by nearly 40%.
Collier sees a difficult year ahead, especially with the proposed value-added tax increase and Britain’s plan to double the road tax for new cars next year.
“We need to look at different ways to sell cars, particularly in Britain where almost 50 manufacturers in totally open market conditions are struggling for a market share,” he said.
Proton Car Sales In UK Exceed Full Year Target
Proton car sales in the United Kingdom (UK) has surpassed the company's full year target by 10 per cent despite a weaker demand for new cars in the country due to global economic slowdown.
Proton Cars (UK) Ltd managing director Brian Collier said the company's target had been to sell about 1,000 units this year.
The larger base of repeat customers and efforts to keep costs down helped the company to surpass its full year target, he said.
"We are actually 10 per cent ahead of our target, which is extremely nice given the difficult market condition here," he told Malaysian journalists here Wednesday.
He said car sales in the UK market was expected to drop to 1.7 million this year from 2.4 million two years ago.
Currently, Proton sells four models namely Gen.2, Persona, Satria and Savvy in the UK market. Its best selling model is the Savvy that makes up about 40 per cent of total sales.
Proton has sold about 150,000 cars in the UK since entering the market in 1989.
Collier said Proton Cars also sells cars that use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the UK market as demand for LPG vehicles was on the increase following the hike in petrol prices and environmental concerns.
"The only cars that we have converted to LPG are Persona and Gen.2," he said.
Last year, Proton Cars sold 150 LPG cars and its targets is to sell 200 units this year.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
PROTON MAKE A NEW PROTON SUV?
PROTON MAKE A NEW PROTON SUV?
By kdi • Aug 16th, 2009 • Category: ! FORUM, Lets talk here!" rel="category tag">! Hot Info > Lets talk here!, PROTONNew Contribution By Norman
Message :Patutkah Proton buat SUV 7 seaters? Seperti Daihatsu Terios 7 atau Honda Crossroad 7 seaters?
proton suv
KDI : Proton have done a clay model of Concept SUV before the launch of Proton Exora which is named as PROTON MSX. Proton MSX is base on Lotus APX. Yes in the future Proton will develop a new Proton SUV base of Proton’s interest to build the clay model of 7 seater Proton MSX.
Proton SUV MSX is to produce a high technology ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ dual image, high performance crossover.It is actually a technology showcase of aluminiun adaptable platform,ride & handling,engine power and crossover functions of suv and sports car.
proton 4wd
The target user group of the PROTON MSX is for successful professionals with young-at-heart lifestyle.The typical usage of the mpv is for leisure and work.And to attract all the businessmen, corporate leaders or celebrities,they had emphasize on 6 different aspect of the car which is the style,the engine and performance,the technology behind it,the ride and handling,the quality and also the ride comfort.
With only a Naturally Aspirated 3.0 V6 engine,They had manage to churned out a hefty 224KW of power and 360Nm of torque.With a 0-100 time of 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 250kmh, the proton already beaten up some of the top notch SUV such as the Porsche Cayenne S,BMW X6 35i and the Nissan Murano.
suv
The Technical Specification Of the PROTON SUV
ENGINE : 3.0L V6
MAX POWER : 224kW
MAX TORQUE : 360Nm
TRANSMISSION : 6 M/T
LENGTH :4,697mm
WIDTH : 1,852mm
HEIGHT : 1,750mm
WHEELBASE : 2700mm
KERB WEIGHT : 1,570kg
0-100km/h : 5.9sec
TOP SPEED : 250km/h
Monday, September 7, 2009
Proton car
List of Proton car models
This is a list of Proton car models, listed in chronological order by the year of release of each of the respective cars. Proton is the Malaysian national carmaker.
Contents[hide] |
Car Models
Proton Saga
Main article: Proton Saga
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Saga | The Proton Saga was the first Proton model, . It rolled off the Shah Alam assembly line for the first time in September 1985. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989. |
Proton Wira
Main article: Proton Wira
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Wira | This car was, and still is, very popular in Malaysia. The word Wira translates into English as "Hero" but instead of using this as the name in English-speaking countries, Proton chose to use the word Persona. The wira has variant models such as 1.3GLi A/M, 1.5GLi A/M, 1.6XLi A/M, 1.8XLi A/M and 2.0D M. Only the 1.8XLi Auto is marketed in the English-speaking country at first known as Persona. Persona is a hatch back model. However, from about 2001 onwards, the car has been sold as the Wira in the United Kingdom, |
Proton Satria
Main article: Proton Satria
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Satria | The Proton Satria (also called the Proton Compact in the UK) is a sporty 3-door hatchback based on the Mitsubishi Mirage / Mitsubishi Colt. Proton gained a lot of valuable engineering knowledge from its takeover of Lotus which ultimately led to a special Lotus badged version of the Satria being produced. The Proton Satria GTi is a 3-door sports hatchback. This was Proton's entry in the sport performance hatchback market. The Satria GTi is popular in Malaysia and has a large following in Australia. It is powered by a 4-cylinder 1,800 cc DOHC engine and featured Lotus-tuned suspension. The Proton Satria R3 is a limited edition road-legal race-spec Satria with only 150 units in production. It features a double seam-welded lightened chassis and a tweaked engine with more aggressive cam timing. The Proton Satria SE is the last batch of Proton Satrias to roll out. Featuring Proton Arena sports rims and grille, and many extras in the interior similar to the Proton Wira SE, this would be the last of the Satrias before the long-awaited SRM (Satria Replacement Model) rolls out. |
 | The Proton Satria Neo is the replacement model of the previous Satria variants, using all-new design, chassis and powerplant. Launched on 16 June 2006, the Satria Neo is available in 1.6L and 1.3L variants, where both variants are powered by Campro engine. |
Proton Putra
Main article: Proton Putra
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Putra | The Proton Putra (also sold in the United Kingdom and Australia as the Proton Coupe or Proton M21) is a 2-door sporty coupe based on the Mitsubishi Mirage. Considered by many as one of the better looking of the Mitsubishi-based models, the Putra was well-received and commands good second-hand value. |
Proton Perdana
Main article: Proton Perdana
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Perdana | The Proton Perdana, based on the Mitsubishi Eterna, was first produced in 1995, and was intended for the higher-end market. The Proton Perdana V6 was a facelifted version of the Perdana, featuring a more powerful V6 engine and new front and rear look. It was later facelifted to include the Alfa-Romeo-inspired grille that earned it the nickname Alfa-dana among enthusiasts. |
Proton Tiara
Main article: Proton Tiara
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Tiara | The Proton Tiara was a supermini class 5 door compact car based on the Citroën AX. It was built under licence from PSA Peugeot Citroën by Proton from 1996 to 2000. The Tiara was powered by a 1.1L engine and featured a different grille, tail lights and bumpers than the Citroën AX. Its successor is the Proton Savvy. |
Proton Juara
Main article: Proton Juara
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Juara | The Proton Juara was a microvan based on the Mitsubishi Town Box Wide. This model was the first batch being totally CKD models from Japan. The external appearance of the car, which was a modification of the original Town Box, was not popular with the Malaysian market and suffered poor sales. The Proton Juara was very economical in fuel consumption and was very versatile. It is also one of the best-equipped Mitsubishi-based models offered from Proton. |
Proton Waja
Main article: Proton Waja
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Waja | The Proton Waja (Proton Impian in Europe) is the first Proton to be designed and styled in-house. However, the car's chassis and engine were sourced and adapted from Mitsubishi (except for the 1,800 cc variant, which was powered by a Renault engine). The word Waja translates into English as "steel" while Impian translates into "dreams" or "ambition". The name Impian was chosen as it was considered to be a more pleasant sounding word for the international market. In January 2006, the car was fitted with a CamPro engine which has been re-tuned to boost the horsepower to 86 kW (115 bhp) and 155 N-m of torque. This made it go full-circle, as the CamPro was originally developed for the Waja, but was deemed not ready for production when the Waja was launched, hence debuting in the Proton Gen-2. The facelifted 2007 Proton Waja was launched on 19 January 2007 with the new grille nearly identical to the Proton Savvy. Although Proton Waja was designed as a premium product of Proton, it was termed as one of the worst cars of Proton. The Waja was also released as the Proton Chancellor in late 2005, a variant for the executive market with a 250mm wheelbase stretch and luxury fittings and accessories, including a space-robbing rear centre console that restricts seating to four persons. It is fitted with powertrain from the Proton Perdana V6. With a selling price of about twice that of a Waja, the Chancellor is a very rare sight on Malaysian roads.
|
Proton Arena
Main article: Proton Arena
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Arena | The Proton Arena (called Proton Jumbuck in the United Kingdom and Australia), a coupe utility vehicle. Based on the Wira platform, Proton engineers managed to develop a vehicle that would cater for those who have an active lifestyle and also those who need a small and economical utility vehicle as opposed to a commercial truck. 1200 units were sold in Australia in its first year. The Arena comes in 3 bodystyles. |
Proton Gen-2
Main article: Proton Gen-2
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Gen-2 | The Proton Gen-2 is the first fully Malaysian-developed (including chassis and engine) Proton car and the replacement model for the Proton Wira; launched on February 8, 2004. Proton still continued to sell the Wira after the Gen.2 was launched, due primarily to the popularity of sedan/saloon vehicles in the target market. The Gen.2, a hatchback design, is considered by many to be the best-looking Proton. It has a minimalist and modern interior with design cues from the Lotus subsidiary. However, very low quality of materials and fit and finish of interior components seriously hurt the public's perception of the quality of the vehicle at launch. Later models used improved quality materials and assistance from the TUV of Germany to help maintain the quality improvements. The Gen.2 was the first Proton to receive the (inappropriately) named CamPro engine, which at launch was widely criticised for the lack of low- to mid-range torque (pulling puwer), due to a late decision to drop Camshaft Profiling from the engine feature-list in production models. Attempts to improve this torque deficit by adjusting ECU parameters have largely been unsuccessful. Published engine torque curves still show a pronounced dip in torque output in the crucial 2000-3000 RPM engine speed region, presumably due to the missing engine feature. The version with Campro CPS engine was previewed during the 24th Thailand International Motor Expo 2007 in Bangkok.[1][2] The Proton Gen-2 was also released in the form of two other variants:
|
Proton Savvy
Main article: Proton Savvy
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Savvy | The Proton Savvy was launched on June 8, 2005. The 1,200 cc 5-door supermini car . The car is fitted with an engine and a gearbox sourced from Renault. In an official on-road test made by Proton in mid-2006, Proton Savvy recorded the fuel consumption rate of about 24 km/L at constant speed of 90km/h (or about RM0.08/km of fuel), making the car as the most fuel-efficient Malaysian car as verified by Malaysian Book of Records. Even with very good fuel efficiency the car maintenance were reportly to be very high even surpassing the Proton Waja. This because of the use of the European Renault engine. The Proton Savvy R3 Zerokit was based on the Proton Savvy R3 prototype and could be added to a Savvy purchase for an additional RM3000. It featured a roof spoiler, front and rear lips and side skirting. |
Proton Persona
Main article: Proton Persona
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Persona | The Proton Persona was launched on 15 August 2007. The 1.6 liter sedan is based on the Proton Gen-2 and features a sedan body instead of the Gen-2's hatchback body. It retains the same 82kW Campro engine. The Persona is rebadged as the Proton Gen-2 Persona in the UK market. |
Proton Exora
Main article: Proton Exora
| Picture | Models | Info |
 | Proton Exora | The Proton Exora was launched on 15 April 2009. It is powered by the 1.6L Campro CPS I4 engine producing 125 horsepower and 150Nm of torque, resulting the top speed of 165 km/h (103 mph) and the average fuel consumption of 7.2 L/100 km (39 mpg-imp; 33 mpg-US).The Exora will feature a Body Control module which allows automatic activation and configuration of various vehicle functions such as door locking/unlocking, interior lamps, headlamps, brake lamps and wipers. |
The result has been announced on 17th February 2009. The name Proton Exora",was picked from the Name The Proton MPV competition grand prize winner Norsholihan Bt Abdul Eanich. Some says that it was taken from the name of a flower, (Ixora) but according to compettion terms and conditions the name should not based on any kind of flowers, animals etc.[3]
Others
Proton PERT
Main article: Proton PERT
The Proton PERT (Petronas-EON Racing Team) is an identical copy of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The latest model resembles the Evolution VII and participated in the production class of the World Rally Championship. The PERT rally programme officially ended in 2006.
| Proton road car timeline, 1985–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Supermini | Tiara | Savvy | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subcompact | Satria | Satria Neo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact Sedan | Saga / MPi / Knight / Saga Iswara | Saga | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wira / Persona / 400 series | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Waja / Impian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gen-2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Persona / Gen-2 Persona | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mid-size | Perdana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coupe | Putra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pick-up | Arena / Jumbuck | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Microvan | Juara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact MPV | Exora | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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