Following the visit of Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to Pakistan earlier this year where he gifted the Prime Minister of Pakistan a Proton X70, the SUV has now been delivered to the government of Pakistan.

To date, over 26,000 units of the X70 have been delivered in the domestic market and exports are starting as well. In the case of Pakistan, plans were finalised in March this year to build an assembly plant that will be owned and operated by ALHAJ Automotive, Proton’s business partner there. Vehicle manufacturing is not a new activity for the ALHAJ Group as it has a subsidiary which has been producing FAW vehicles for a number of years.

Production is targeted to begin in 2021 with the X70 as the first of several models that will be sold in Pakistan. The long-term goal is to sell 400,000 vehicles by 2027. Just as in Malaysia, assembling its vehicles locally will allow Proton to have more attractive pricing as duties are lower for vehicles assembled in the country.

The brand new assembly plant will be located in Karachi, Pakistan’s industrial and financial centre. The initial investment will be US$30 million (around RM124.3 million) and 2,000 direct employment opportunities are expected to be created in its first 3 years of operations. It is estimated that a further 20,000 indirect jobs will also be created as a result of the new plant being commissioned.

“Proton sees a lot of potential in Pakistan and as Malaysia is the only Muslim country to have its own automotive brand, both our countries are natural partners who have so much to share with each other. The Proton X70 has won several awards at home and we hope that eventually, it can accomplish the same feats when it arrives here,” said Mohd Khalid Yusof, Proton’s Director of Investment and Promotion.

First Made-in-Malaysia Proton X70 officially rolls out at Tg. Malim factory