Report: One Proton Model Will be Discontinued by The End of 2023

Aside from discussing the new Automotive High-Tech Valley developed by DRB-HICOM and Geely, Proton’s Global Investors & Vendors Convention 2023 yesterday also saw the automaker making several announcements and statements regarding the future of its product lineup.

Speaking during a press conference at yesterday’s convention, Proton’s senior director of Group Technical Procurement Ainol Azmil Abu Bakar said that one Proton model will be dropped by the end of this year.

“Of the four original models (from Proton), [three] will still continue except for one model that we have announced to suppliers that we are going to EOP (End-of-Production) by end of the year,” the senior director said.

Proton 'PIES' models – Persona (top left), Iriz (top right), Exora (bottom left), & Saga (bottom right)

Mr. Ainol further added that this model discontinuation will only affect the four Proton’s ‘PIES’ models – Persona, Iriz, Exora, Saga – while the Geely-based ‘X’ series models – X50, X70 and X90 – will be continued for at least another decade.

“The other three models are going to be here for quite a long time and the ‘X’ series obviously is going to stay perhaps for another ten years,” he added.

While Mr. Ainol did not specifically mention which of the ‘PIES’ is en route to the guillotine at the end of this year, all evidence pointed to either the Iriz or the Exora. For the Exora’s case, it is Proton’s oldest model in its entire lineup, originally made its debut way back in 2009 – 14 years ago. Aside from that, the Exora is also Proton’s worst-selling model for the first half of 2023 (excluding the X90), with only 2,367 units sold so far this year.

For comparison, the Iriz is the second oldest Proton model, launched back in 2014, followed by the second-gen Persona and third-gen Saga – both making their debut back in 2016.

As for the Iriz, sales figures for Proton’s B-segment hatchback have been quite poor in recent years, with the segment dominated by its rival, the Perodua Myvi. For reference, the national automaker’s mid-year sales report indicates that the Iriz is the second worst-selling Proton model so far (also excluding the X90), with only 4,032 units sold in the first half of 2023.

However, if you scan through Geely’s current offerings, you’ll notice that the automaker only harnesses an MPV model in its lineup – the Geely Jiaji, with no hatchback model currently available. This might suggest that the Jiaji will serve as a base for Exora’s successor, should the automaker decide to discontinue the model. But then again, these are just mere speculations, as Proton has yet to follow up this revelation with an official statement, for now.