Business

Friday October 2, 2009

LPG model set to drive Proton UK sales

By CHOI TUCK WO


It’s tapping rising demand for dual-fuel cars in Britain

NORFOLK (England): Proton Cars UK Ltd (Proton UK) is banking on its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered cars to help drive sales in Britain, according to its managing director Brian Collier.

He spoke of an emerging niche market for the Proton Gen-2 1.6 litre ecoLogic which runs on either LPG or petrol in the wake of rising fuel prices.

Collier said there had been an increasing demand for the dual-fuel model which costs the same as the petrol version but requires half the price to run and is kinder to the environment.

Proton Cars UK MD Brian Collier showing the LPG conversion fitting neatly into the original design after briefing for Malaysian journalists at the Park Farm Country Hotel & Leisure at Hethersett, Norwich.

“Next year is going to be all about LPG cars and repeat customers,” he told Malaysian journalists at a briefing at the Park Farm Country Hotel & Leisure in Hethersett, Norwich, on Wednesday.

The briefing was organised by Proton Holdings Bhd in conjunction with the royal visit to the Lotus plant headquarters by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuan­ku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahi­rah today.

A subsidiary of Proton Holdings which acquired Lotus in 1996, Proton UK has sold about 150,000 vehicles in Britain since 1989.

Last year, about 1,500 units were sold through the company’s 80 dealers across Britain but Proton UK has revised its target to 1,000 this year due to the global economic slowdown.

Collier said they sold 150 LPG vehicles last year and expected to hit 200 this year, adding that the Humberside police force has a fleet of 100 such units.

He said these vehicles were sought after by corporate clients including companies with small fleets and taxi operators that now accounted for about half their total sales.

“Britons are very cost-conscious, especially during the economic downturn,” he said, citing petrol price of around £1.10 a litre against 50 to 55 pence for a litre of LPG.

Proton UK, he added, was the only manufacturer in Britain which did not charge extra for the LPG conversion, which usually costs about £2,000.

Collier also singled out the Savvy as Britain’s best-selling Proton car among its models including the Satria, Gen-2 ecoLogic and Gen-2 Persona.

He said Britons loved small economic cars such as the Savvy for fuel economy and its low emission which the annual car tax was based upon.

The Savvy naturally fits into this A and B segments which dominate the British market, he said, adding about 400 Savvy were sold this year alone.

Savvy is priced just under £8,000 but with a £2,000 discount under Britain’s car scrappage scheme, it costs just below £6,000, according to Collier. In fact, some brand new cars are selling for £5,000 or less, an indication of the tough market, with car manufacturers across Europe badly hit, he said.

British vehicle sales had plunged from 2.4 million units two years ago to about 1.7 million this year while Spain was down by nearly 40%.

Collier sees a difficult year ahead, especially with the proposed value-added tax increase and Britain’s plan to double the road tax for new cars next year.

“We need to look at different ways to sell cars, particularly in Britain where almost 50 manufacturers in totally open market conditions are struggling for a market share,” he said.


PROTON : [Stock Watch] [News]


For latest Bursa Malaysia indices, charts and other information click here

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story