Malaysian car manufacturer Proton had recently unveiled a Gen2 adapting a Hybrid drivetrain during the factory's open house day, showing the public a Gen2 driven by Prime Minister Abdullah Badahwi; spurring rumors of Proton might be heading for Hybrid developments for their upcoming lineups.
Proton also celebrated their 3,000,000 car built - Since 1985. This got us wondered, 23 years on and they've only sold 3 million cars? And now a Hybrid drivetrain?
Proton was notoriously known as one of the worst manufacturers producing very badly build cars, even experiencing a period where there's a severe determent from the country's loyal customers, plunging their market dominance from a once 70% to the current 30% mark, and was surpassed by Perodua, the nation's other car manufacturer, gaining the top spot in the country. Ironically, Perodua stands for Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua, which means 'Second Automobile Manufacturer'.
However not all seems doom as upon hiring Perodua's second man, Proton had undergone a strong revamp, releasing the Persona, which is essentially a Gen2 with a boot but with much better build quality, and the new Proton Saga, of which is a very decent looking sedan with decent quality, and rivaling space for the Toyota Vios but costs RM50,000 (USD$15,000) less than the Japanese rival.
