National carmaker Proton might have to bite the bullet – and share that bullet with the rest of us – as the cost of manufacturing its cars continues to rise. Today Proton announced that it may be forced to raise the price of its cars after Chinese New Year.
With the Malaysian Ringgit still on shaky ground (it began trading at 9am today at 4.3930/4000 to the US Dollar, a sharp fall from the 3.57 it was going for this time last year) wreaking havoc on Proton’s power to purchase and import parts for its models, the manufacturer might have no choice but to pass on the added costs to customers.
“The ringgit level now is lower compared with a year ago, which has affected prices for imported parts,” The Star reports Proton CEO Harith Abdullah as saying in Petaling Jaya today.
Proton says 20-30% of the parts in its cars are imported.
Harith added that Proton was doing it all it can to preserve retail prices for its cars at their current prices before Chinese New Year rolls around, so that customers might enjoy a brand new car purchase.
Honda Malaysia has already announced that the prices of its cars would go up by 2-3% this year. UMW Toyota, meanwhile, has announced that its vehicles would go up in price by 4-16%, beginning this month. Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has also indicated it would take similar steps.
