By Sherilyn Goh
Proton is expected to introduce its first B-segment sedan next year, based on the Proton Iriz hatchback, according to automotive portal paultan.org.
The automotive portal expects the sighted Proton Iriz-based B-segment sedan to be the next-generation Proton Persona mentioned by Proton’s chairman Mahathir Mohamed, said to be making their way into showrooms next year.
B-segment is a small car classification, defined by the European Commission as being larger than mini-cars in the A-segment, and smaller than medium cars in the C-segment.
Mahathir was earlier quoted as saying that the national carmaker is aiming to introduce three new models next year under the Perdana, Persona and Saga flagships, in order to boost sales and prop up its financial performance.
The Honda Accord-based Perdana will be launched in the first quarter of 2016, while new versions of Persona and Saga will follow.
The second national carmaker, Perodua, is also expected to introduce its first sedan car by next year.
With Proton’s introduction of its Proton Iriz-based B-segment sedan, both Proton and Perodua are venturing into a previously unchartered segment. This continues a growing rivalry between the first and second national carmakers, in the face of heightened competition in the automotive market under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
While competing with Perodua on the lower-priced end, Proton also sees the top end of its territory encroached by non-national carmakers such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which have been aggressive in recent years through the introduction of its new entry-level, B-segment models at increasingly competitive prices.
Such examples include Nissan’s Almera in 2012, Toyota’s Vios in 2013 and Honda’s 2014 City and Jazz which rival the Proton Preve in terms of pricing.
The year 2014 saw the combined market share of non-national cars (53%) exceeding that of national cars (47%) for the first time, which saw Perodua (29.4%) continuing to lead the market, whereas Proton maintained its second position albeit with a reduced market share of 17.4%, down 3.8 percentage points from the previous year.
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