At a press conference following the launch of the Proton S70, Proton’s Deputy CEO, Roslan Abdullah said that Proton is looking to expand the Malaysian Tiger’s export presence in at least 5 new overseas markets.

Currently, Proton is exported to 15 countries including South Africa, Pakistan, Kenya, and Brunei. “We are exploring a few markets like the Middle East and we aim to add at least 5 new destinations to Proton’s current export plans,” Roslan said.

The Deputy CEO revealed to the media that Proton’s export volume is still low with around 2,500 units being exported overseas in 2023 so far. The decline in exports is largely due to lower demand from the Pakistani market which is one of Proton’s largest markets overseas.

Roslan said that there were initially plans to export 10,000 units of Proton cars to Pakistan in 2023 but the country’s economic situation scuppered those plans.

As for Proton’s plans for the major ASEAN markets like Indonesia and Thailand, Proton CEO, Dr Li Chunrong said that while those markets are huge, they are also very competitive to enter.

“Instead, Proton will focus more on markets outside ASEAN,” the CEO explained.

Previously at the S70’s media preview, Roslan explained that Proton would have to set up partnerships with local vendors in order to price its models more competitively in Indonesia and Thailand or incur higher import taxes.

Also read: High import taxes in Indonesia and Thailand are hindering Proton S70 export plans in those markets