KL exports cars to Australia

KL exports cars to Australia

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones): Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd. or Proton, a Malaysian domestic carmaker, said Wednesday it expects annual sales of about 350 million ringgit from its newly-launched flagship export model.

The group said the model, called Satria GTi, has entered the list of top performing cars in Australia and the UK, the two countries where the car was launched about one month ago.

Mahaleel Ariff, Proton's chief executive, said the group's production has doubled this year compared to 1998 as a result of strong demand from domestic and export markets.

Proton's production next year is expected to rise to 15,000 units a month from about 14,200 units a month this year, Mahaleel said.

Proton plans to also export the Satria GTi to Germany.