Proton Lunches Persona & Gen.2 in Egypt
Monday, November 24th, 2008
CAIRO, Nov 25 — Proton Holdings Bhd is making further inroads in Egypt market with the launch of its Persona model and facelifted Gen.2 sedans.
Its managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Mohamed said that offering the new Persona model showed the company’s commitment to strengthen its presence in Egypt.
Syed Zainal said the Proton Persona was the third Proton model to enter the country after the Waja and Gen-2.
“We are very delighted to be here Tuesday to launch the car because we believe Egypt will be an important market for us. So far, we have sold more than 5,500 Proton cars in this market,” he said.
Syed Zainal was speaking to reporters before the launching ceremony of the Proton Persona and facelifted Gen.2 sedans at the Pyramid of Giza, one of the world’s seven wonders, here last night. Proton is the third automotive company to launch its models at the famous attraction after BMW and Jaguar.
He said conservatively, the company expects a monthly sales volume of 150 to 200 units of the Proton Persona in Egypt.
Proton entered the Egyptian market in 2001 and Ezz Elarab Automotive Group is the distributor for Proton cars in the country.
Syed Zainal said the company was bullish on its prospects in Egypt, adding that two new models would make their debut in the country as early as the first quarter of 2009.
“We are planning to launch the Saga model by the first quarter of next year and our new MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) by end-2009 or early 2010 to provide more variety to the Egyptian market,” he said.
On Proton’s export performance, Syed Zainal said the company was now exporting about 2,000 cars a month.
He said Proton had launched the Persona model in Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
The company is looking at launching the model in Oman and Qatar next week and in Syria in January next year.
The Persona, voted “Car of the Year for Malaysia” at the Frost & Sullivan Automotive Awards for Southeast Asia, comes in two variants with prices of 79,900 and 90,900 Egyptian pounds.
The launch was witnessed by Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Muslim Women and Social Development Affairs, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, and Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt, Datuk Zainal Abidin Abdul Kadir.
At the event, Proton also donated a Proton Persona to the Children Cancer Hospital of Egypt.