Even before its launching date, the orders of Proton Exora had been overwhelming and now Proton plan to launch the MPV in Thailand market before the end of this year.Read the fuoll story from Bernama below.

PROTON EXORA TO HIT THAILAND MARKET BY END OF THE YEAR

SHAH ALAM, Aug 14 – National car maker Proton Holdings Bhd plans to launch the country’s first multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the Exora, in Thailand before the end of this year.

Managing Director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin said the model was well received in Malaysia, since its launch on April 15, and was also enjoying roaring sales in Indonesia since its debut there in July.

“Insyaallah, this November or December, the Exora will be introduced in Thailand, thanks to buyers and the media which have been complementing Exora’s good features,” he told reporters after launching Proton’s Merdeka celebration here today.

The programme, beginning tommorrow until September 15, would see various Proton models, including the first Proton Saga and the latest Exora taking part in a nationwide road convoy.

Syed Zainal said, todate, Proton received 18,000 bookings for the Exora while 10,000 of the MPVs were already registered in the domestic market.

In Indonesia, Proton received 1,200 bookings for the MPV, out of which 230 units have already been delivered.

He said Proton was targetting vehicle sales of 150,950 units for the financial year ending March 31, 2010, and planned to sell about 36,000 units of the Exora in the current financial year.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2009, the company sold 141,000 vehicles.

“We are now trying our best to increase production capacity to meet market demand and reduce the waiting list,” Syed Zainal said, adding that the company’s current monthly output of the Exora stood at 3,500 units.

The model was awarded the Malaysian Vehicle Assessment Programme certification by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), scoring four out of five stars for safety assessment.

Syed Zainal said the accreditation was expected to boost public confidence in Proton cars.

On the company’s first quarter results, Syed Zainal said,”If you look at sales performance, obviously this is a very good number.”

“We are in a much more solid and stable footing now. Given the current scenario in the global automotive industry where many companies are going through turbulent times, we, as a small company, are able to adapt and rebound very quickly,” Syed Zainal said.

Proton is expected to announce, next week, its financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.

Meanwhile, Syed Zainal said Proton has, todate, issued almost 17,000 discount vouchers after the government introduced the auto scrapping scheme in the recent mini-Budget.

Under the scheme, owners can trade in their cars, which are 10 years or older, for a RM5,000 discount when they purchase a new Proton or Perodua vehicle.

“This is a very good programme as we have seen its effectiveness in Germany, Italy and France. We hope the government would study the benefits of the programme and perhaps extend it in the future,” he added.