SHAH ALAM: Proton Holdings Bhd expects to break even in three years by selling 5,000 units of its all-new Proton Saga a month.
“The total development cost for the Saga is about RM150 million. It is a good number for the market of our size. If we can sell 5,000 units a month, we can break even in three years,” said chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali.
He said Proton should be able to achieve its target based on the current competitive environment.
“The Saga is our bread and butter. In the past, we managed to sell as high as 8,000 units a month. We recognise that now we have more competition, but we should be able to sell at least 5,000 units a month,” he said at the launch of the new Saga, here, yesterday.
Seen as the main challenger for the recently-introduced Perodua Bezza, the new Saga was unveiled at a starting price of RM36,800.
The new Saga comes in three variants. The Standard variant comes with manual or automatic transmission. The others are Executive automatic and Premium automatic.
The Executive variant sells at RM42,800, while the Premium variant is priced at RM45,800.
The car is powered by the same engine used in Proton Iriz, which is the 1.3-litre VVT hooked on either a five-speed manual for the Standard (MT) only or a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Proton claims that the new Saga is faster and more fuel-efficient than its predecessor.
The Standard (MT) version can sprint to 100kph in 12.2 seconds, and consumes 5.4 litres of petrol per 100km at 90kph.
The CVT variants can reach 100kph in 13.1 seconds, and uses 5.6 litre of petrol per 100km at 90kph.