Just as the Malaysian auto industry began with local assembly operations started by foreign automakers, Malaysia’s national automaker is now having its vehicle assembled in other countries. Besides Kenya and Pakistan, Proton now has assembly operations in Egypt which were officially inaugurated yesterday.
Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim was present at the ceremony at the assembly plant in the Aloula Industrial Park in Giza on the west bank of the Nile, 8 kms from Cairo. The new US$35 million (RM156.1 million) plant is owned by Ezz Elarab Elsewedy Automotive Factories (ESAF), a joint venture between Ezz Elarab and Elsewedy Capital Holding.
Annual production capacity to reach 20,000 units
The plant will have an annual production capacity of 20,000 units on a single shift. When running at its full operational capacity, it is expected to provide employment for up to 400 people. The first 1,400 units of the Proton Saga (lefthand drive variant) are expected to be completed by the end of next month.
In 2025, output is targeted to be 5,000 units with projections for the first 3 years showing a total of 16,000 units. Besides being sold in Egypt, where 86,044 vehicles were sold in 2023, the Sagas will also be exported to countries in Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa. This is in line with Proton’s international expansion plans which also include entering Middle Eastern markets.
In total, the value of the exports to Egypt is expected to bring in RM570 million to Proton, excluding additional revenue earned from parts exports that is projected to earn a further RM20 million.
“Proton has been Malaysia’s leading vehicle exporter for decades with our current export volume accounting for approximately 3% of our total sales volume. While these efforts have borne fruit, our own history shows there is a lot of untapped potential for the company in markets outside of Malaysia. Egypt is central to our plans for the region and going forward, we will be keen to engage in more collaborations with partners such as ESAF to unlock the sales potential for our cars in countries where car ownership numbers are still increasing,” said Tan Sri Syed Faisal Albar, Chairman of Proton Holdings Bhd.
Proton in Egypt
The Proton brand has been present in the Egyptian automotive market with its partner, Ezz Ezz Elarab since 2004 (although there were exports earlier, with over 1,500 units up to 2001). Over the past 20 years, nearly 17,000 cars have been exported to Egypt. The Proton brand is thus well known in that market and in fact, there is even an owners’ club for the Gen2.
“Assembling the Proton Saga in Egypt allows the company to meet the aim of the Egyptian government which is encouraging local assembly activities while limiting the number of CBU (completely built-up) imports. This, in turn, creates the potential for greater future capacity expansion in the country, especially after we launch new models, with the aim to make Egypt the hub for Proton vehicle exports in the North African region,” said Steven Xu, Director of International Sales at Proton.