Published on August 24th, 2020 | by Amirul Mukminin

Proton Penetrates Kenyan Market with Saga

Proton has marked its entry into the Kenyan market with an export of 30 Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits of the Saga.

The B-segment cars will be assembled by Simba Corporation, a Nairobi-based business group with a rich heritage in motor vehicle sales and service. The local assembly will attract lower taxes and help stimulate the country’s automotive manufacturing industry.

Launched in 2019, the updated Saga features a number of key improvements including a new Hyundai-sourced four-speed automatic transmission to replace the problematic CVT in the previous model.

The car retains the 1.3-litre four-cylinder VVT engine that makes 94 hp at 5,750 rpm and 120 Nm at 4,000 rpm. In Malaysia, pricing starts from RM32,800 for the Standard MT variant to RM39,800 for the Premium AT.

Earlier this year, Proton launched the updated Iriz, Saga and Persona in Brunei.

PRESS RELEASE

PROTON added a new name to its list of export countries when it shipped its first batch of cars to Kenya. Consisting of 30 units of the Proton Saga, the cars were shipped as CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits and will be assembled by Simba Corporation (Simba), a diversified conglomerate with a long history of sales and assembly experience in the automotive industry.

Assembly of Proton vehicles to help spur Kenyan manufacturing activities PROTON’s decision to export the Saga in a CKD format was made following close consultation with its Kenyan partner, Simba. Aside from attracting lower taxes by being locally assembled, CKD units will help spur development in Kenya’s automotive manufacturing industry.

“While strengthening PROTON’s domestic position is critical to truly be acknowledged as an international car maker, we need to see our products in places as diverse as Bangkok, Islamabad, Cairo and now, Nairobi. On a national level, this will also increase the value of trade between Malaysia and Kenya and help to contribute to the creation of jobs in Kenya’s automotive industry,” said Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, PROTON.

The guest of honour for the ceremonial flag-off ceremony was the Kenyan High Commissioner for Malaysia, His Excellency Mr. Francis N. Muhoro. During his address, Mr Muhoro explained how his country has a look East policy and his wish was for more Malaysian companies like PROTON to discover the investment opportunities in Kenya.

“Malaysia and Kenya share many similarities, from a colonial past to our efforts in developing our nations. PROTON’s entry in to the country is not just as an entry in to a market of 51 million people but it is also a gateway to a potential market of 1.3 billion inhabiting the African continent. Therefore, I am hopeful this will be just the start of more trade between our two nations,” said His Excellency.