Malaysia's Proton to launch a new compact car in India
Proton, a Malaysia based car maker, is planning to make its debut in the Indian market with launching a small car with a competitive price tag. The new car will be based on the the EMAS concept to which company has presented at the Geneva Auto show last month.
The new small car will be a five-door hatchback designed by an Italian firm Italdesign Giugiaro. The concept which was shown at the Geneva auto show was a four-seater model with a total length of 3,550-mm. The company is aiming to sell this car in markets like India and China, which are one of the fastest growing auto-markets in the world.
Besides this new small car, the company has another compact car 'Savvy' in its global portfolio. The Savvy model will be powered with a 1200cc engine which will be out-sourced from Renault. It is speculated that the company may look for possibilities of sourcing engines from Renault for its India bound compact car too, as Renault has invested heavily at its engine production facility in Chennai. However, there is no confirmation form either of the company on this regard.
Its about a decade since the company is planning to enter in the Indian market, but due to the financial problems the company had rescheduled its plans. Last year, the company was in talks with the Hero group for a joint venture in India but these talks couldn't reached to the fruition.