Proton

Proton is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor, with a manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak. Founded in 1983, it was Malaysia's only carmaker until the establishment of its competitor and arch-rival Perodua in 1993. Its name is a Malay acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (National Automobile Enterprise).It is a core member of Proton Holdings Berhad, the holding company which is listed on Bursa Malaysia. Proton exports cars to the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia and the company is aggressively marketing its cars in several other countries including the Middle East. Besides that, Proton has also been exporting a small volume of cars to Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Taiwan , Cyprus and Mauritius.In 1996, Proton acquired a 63.75% share in Lotus Group International Limited for £40,640,000.This was later increased to 100% in 2003.In December 2005, Proton purchased a majority share in MV Agusta of Italy at 70 million Euro. Proton-backed Lotus F1 was granted entry into F1 following the departure of BMW Sauber in 2009. This move saw the return of Lotus to Formula 1 following a 15-year absence. The team raced under the full name Lotus F1 Racing, not Team Lotus which was the historic name of all previous Lotus F1 teams.