The Saga saga: Proton's unusual arrival in the UK

We recently learned that Proton is planning an exports push that will take it into right-hand-drive markets, including the UK.

Perhaps surprisingly, Proton is much more familiar here than in any country outside its homeland of Malaysia, some 140,000 of its cars having found buyers here between 1989 and 2014.

This south-east Asian nation entered a period of modernisation and economic growth after its 1963 independence from the UK, and in 1979, deputy prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamad proposed enhancing its small car industry through the creation of a ‘national automobile enterprise’ – ‘perusahaan otomobil nasional’ in Malay, or Proton for short.

The new Heavy Industries Corporation of Malaysia (Hicom) wisely sought an experienced firm for help, and in 1983 a joint venture with Mitsubishi was established.

Proton had an HQ and a factory with an annual capacity of 100,000 cars built on a former palm oil plantation near Kuala Lumpur, while its Japanese partner lightly altered its new if conventional Lancer Fiore family saloon.

What became the Proton Saga was signed off in November 1984 following local durability testing and launched in July 1985 by bin Mohamad, who by that time had become prime minister. He bought the first one as a gift for his wife.

Weirdly, UK sales had already been agreed before said launch, after 11 months of negotiations with Mainland Investments, a Warrington company that had 17 multi-brand dealerships in the north-west and was led by a former Lada GB executive, Harry Knopp.

Or at least that’s what Mainland thought! That December, Proton director Wan Nik bin Ismail stated: “We have not appointed anyone to handle our exports. We have not appointed a concessionaire for the UK either.” And when asked about Mainland: “We have no contact with this company.”

The confusion stemmed from Mainland signing a letter of understanding not with Proton but Edarlus Enterprise, a Malaysian company that claimed to be in charge of Proton exports. Bin Ismail denounced this claim, while Edarlus claimed to have been given permission by the Malaysian government to appoint concessionaires in the UK.

“Proton UK CEO Knopp expects to sign an agreement in Malaysia this week, but meanwhile the 103 UK dealers who have expressed interest could be unsettled by the uncertainty,” we reported.

At this point, Colt Cars, the UK importer of Mitsubishis, waded in. “I was very impressed, both with the factory and the quality of the cars,” boss Peter Beaumont told Autocar as Proton reaffirmed that “no one should be making claims on our behalf” about UK exports.

Indeed, Proton UK had to cancel its stand at that autumn’s British motor show after bin Mohamad refused to approve the deal.

It seemed any chance of UK sales had vanished by December 1986, when Bricklin Industries secured a capacity-stretching deal with Proton to sell the Saga beside Zastava’s Yugo in the US. 

Yet Proton UK remained undeterred, pushing ahead with a £1 million publicity campaign – a gamble but perhaps a well-considered one, as Malaysia’s car market had halved year on year as a recession hit.

Type approval looked to be another hurdle, and indeed this would scupper the plan for American sales – but it turned out that Proton UK had been quietly working on this for a long time.

By late 1987, everything had at last been ironed out. Knopp had handed the reins to David Brown (no, not that one, and no, not that one either!) and he and his deputy had spent a month out in Malaysia finalising a deal with Proton.

At launch, 142 Lada GB dealers started selling Proton cars – and it wasn’t just numbers that made life easy, as our summary of the Saga (rebadged the 1.5) shows: “It’s an unexpectedly competent effort: it’s very well equipped, handles well and rides acceptably, with brisk performance and good build quality.”

Geely’s proven hardware should ensure Proton’s new EVs attract similar praise, but we can only hope that the retail side of the launch goes far more smoothly!