PROTON to Invest RM200m on New Stamping Facility in Tanjung Malim

PROTON has begun work to expand the Tanjung Malim assembly plant. The company had held a groundbreaking ceremony recently to signify the start of an addition of a new stamping facility. PROTON is expecting to invest about RM200 million on the new stamping facility which will complement the existing production lines.

Long-term Growth Plan

The cost for this expansion is in addition to the RM1.2 billion invested previously. The new facility will house a Superlarge press machine to further enhance PROTON’s stamping abilities that is able to stamp larger pieces of bodywork as well as other parts.

In addition to making the Tanjung Malim plant a world-class manufacturing facility, this expansion is part of PROTON’s comprehensive plan to increase the level of localisation for both current and future models.

According to PROTON, this investment is part of its growth strategy and future planning as it is designed to allow for the manufacturing of more model lines. It is also in line with PROTON’s technology strategy as the new area will include state-of-the-art tools as well as systems.

“While we are happy with our progress so far, PROTON must continue to look to the future”, said Dr.Li Chunrong, Chief Executive Officer of PROTON. “This new addition is part of our strategy to ensure that we can grow continuously as well as increase our model footprint when we have to. This means having the ability to build more variants but more importantly to be able to build them to the highest standards as well as to incorporate new technology”, he added.

Heading in the Right Direction

Over the past 3 years, PROTON has seen a huge turnaround in its fortunes. Having launched new models, it has managed to gain back market share, improved quality and also revamped its entire dealer network. This has resulted in the company being the only large manufacturer in Malaysia to post growth in 2020.

“We are very clear about direction and growth for PROTON. While Malaysia will always be our primary market, we must be able to compete beyond our shores. This facility is one small part of that journey. It is especially important for us because it means we can do far more localisation going forward. This will have a spill-over effect which will see us engaging with more vendors and further growing the local automotive ecosystem”, said Li.

The new stamping facility will flank the existing line and is expected to be completed by the 3rd quarter of 2022.