Proton Exora to cost less than RM80,000

PETALING JAYA: Bookings for Proton's maiden multi-purpose vehicle, Proton Exora, starts on Saturday.
The seven-seater MPV, which costs less than RM80,000, comes in five choice colours and is powered by a 1.6-litre CamPro engine.

Proton Holdings Bhd chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said the launch has been set for April, while the export drive would start in July, with Indonesia and Thailand as the initial destinations.

He said this yesterday after the official announcement of the MPV's name here and the winner of the contest to name the vehicle, which was held a few months ago.

Also present was Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
Syed Zainal said Proton had planned a monthly production of 3,000 to 3,500 units, and full production would start next month.

"We have already started the preliminary production," he said, adding that it cost the company some RM450 million to develop Exora, which included between RM60-70 million for the production line at Proton's plant in Shah Alam.

Nadzmi was confident Exora would be a hit in the market, although an MPV from Proton was a bit later than its competitors.

"It's better late than never. There is a trend to have a big vehicle for a family," he said.

On the price, Nadzmi said it was because Proton wanted a big volume.

Meanwhile, Norsholihan Abd Eanich, a 29-year-old teacher from Changlun in Kedah, was the grand prize winner of the contest to name the MPV.

Norsholihan's entry was among 39 entries that gave the "Exora" name but with different original taglines.

She won herself an Exora, taken from the word "ixora", a type of tropical flower.

The month-long contest attracted 251,763 entries.