Malaysian carmaker Proton is on its way back to SA

As a reminder, the Malaysian brand is owned by Chinese carmaker Geely since 2017. Geely also owns Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, and has a stake in Mercedes-Benz.

Now a report from BusinessTech has confirmed some details and pricing of the Proton products that will be going on sale in SA from September. We understand that CMH will have 25 Proton dealerships and the first batch of cars has already arrived in SA.

So, what can South African motorists expect? There’ll be two SUV models; the Proton X50 and the Proton X70. All are powered by a 1.5l three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.

There are multiple states of tune, with 110 kW / 226 Nm and 130 kW / 255 Nm. We suspect this motor is similar to the one found in the XC40 T3.

Proton X50

From the price list, we can see that there will four levels of trim: Standard, Luxury, Executive, Premium.

Pricing will start at R450 000 and go all the way to R550,000. The flagship model gets the 130kW/255Nm turbocharged engine, while the rest of the range makes do with 110kW and 226Nm. Transmission choices have yet to be confirmed, but going on segment preferences, we suspect that it will all be automatic gearboxes. A fuel tank capacity of 45ls is standard.

Dimensions of 4,330mm, 1,800mm, and 1,609mm put it in the Toyota C-HR and Kia Seltos territory.

Proton X70

The bigger Proton X70 is offered in four levels of trim, with one model offering all-wheel drive. All derivatives feature the turbocharged 1.5l three-cylinder petrol with 130 kW and 255 Nm. The vehicle comes with a 60l fuel tank. Pricing starts from R519,000 and goes up to R600,000. Again, we suspect this model will be automatic-only.

It is sizing of 4,519mm, 1,831mm, and 1,694mm puts the Proton in the same bracket as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Mazda CX-5.

We’ll have more details on both of these products closer to their launch in September 2022.

This article was originally published on Cars.co.za.