Proton SUV To Be CBU China, Arriving By September 2018

Proton top management team, led by CEO Dr Li Chunrong, has provided information that the new Proton SUV, based on the Geely Boyue, is on track to be introduced to the Malaysian market by late September to early October this year.

The management team shared the good news during a simple meet-and-greet session with the media after the opening ceremony of their first upgraded Proton 4S centre at Subang, Selangor.

Proton has also mentioned that the supply and sourcing of the new Proton SUV will be in two stages. The first batch of the new SUV will be imported from China and only to be assembled at the Tanjung Malim plant later in 2019.

Dr Li said this two-stage introduction was necessary as Proton was required to meet the government’s request of having the Proton SUV be introduced as soon as possible.

Our friends at Careta.my spotted a fleet of Geely Boyue undergoing local development work back in February

Proton’s technical team also mentioned that the first batch of the new SUV in right-hand drive configuration will be arriving in Malaysia next month. These vehicles are however only for the planned testing activities around Malaysia.

Marketing activities are also expected to start from August, leading up to the official launch in late September to early October.  

Interior of Proton SUV to have different design elements compared to Geely Boyue

Meanwhile, Proton head of design Azlan Othman mentioned that his team were also given the liberty to deliver more design impact in the locally-made SUV scheduled for 2019 introduction compared to the imported ones, which are limited to simple changes to meet the deadline.

Dr Li in closing mentioned that the interior of the Proton SUV will have differences compared to the Geely Boyue that it is based on.