Proton Holdings Bhd said the company was still producing the Satria Neo as
a replacement model for the first generation Satria.
Group managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said Proton
was shifting the manufacturing of the model to its main plant in Shah Alam
from Tanjung Malim.
“There is no truth in the report that we are ceasing production at the
Tanjung Malim plant and shifting to Shah Alam. So, people may misinterpret
that we are stopping production in Tanjung Malim to ‘kill the brands
produced there’,” he said.
Syed Zainal was responding to a news report that Satria Neo was nearing
the end of its production cycle.
Speaking at a press conference in Subang Jaya today, he said Proton was
rearranging its facilities at the state-of-the-art Tanjung Malim plant in
order to bring in its new model.
Meanwhile, Syed Zainal said Proton has decided to discontinue the sale of
its supermini hatchback Savvy, introduced in June 2005, as a successor to
the Tiara model, and was also phasing out the Gen.2 model from the domestic
market.
“We are shifting the production of Gen.2 and as you know, we are talking
to our partners in China and Iran to assemble the model there. We are
still in negotiations,” he said.
Syed Zainal also said Proton, which emerged as a dominant force this year
to clinch the coveted Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) manufacturer’s
and driver’s titles, was committed to be better in both competition and in
the manufacture of production vehicles for the global market.
Pitting the Satria Neo S2000 against the likes of Mitsubishi and Subaru,
the national car manufacturer won four of the six APRC rounds this year.
“It is our goal to have our achievements and the technology derived in
competition transcend into our future generation of vehicles.
“Motorsports is a cost-effective and wide-reaching platform which we
believe offers tremendous value and return on investment,” Syed Zainal
added.
– Bernama
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