The first subsidiary under the Group, Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd, began operations on May 7, 1983 and launched the first model, Saga, on 9 July 1985. Since then, PROTON has progressed from being a domestic manufacturer to one with capabilities to design and develop its own models to meet the marketplace’s range of demands, i.e. Waja, Gen.2 and Savvy.
It had also jointly developed PROTON’s own proprietary engine, Campro with Lotus Group in the U.K.
Apart from its domestic presence, PROTON has exported its cars to four key market regions i.e. ASEAN, Middle East, United Kingdom and Australia.