Manufacturer Proton Class Compact / C-segment | Production October 2010–June 2015 Body style 4-door saloon | |
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Assembly Malaysia: Shah Alam, Selangor Layout Front-engine, front-wheel drive | ||
The Proton Inspira is a four-door compact saloon produced by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton which was launched in 2010. It is sold exclusively in Malaysia as a rebadged tenth-generation Mitsubishi Lancer as the result of a collaboration between Mitsubishi Motors and Proton. The Inspira succeeded the Proton Waja, and complements the indigenously-designed Proton Prevé in the Malaysian market.
Contents
History
Proton renewed a technological transfer agreement with Mitsubishi Motors, an agreement that in the mid-1980s was fundamental to Proton’s origins. Mitsubishi would get the Exora for rebadge in Japan under them as fair technology sharing.
1,100 orders were received within the first 10 days after dealers began accepting bookings for the Inspira. Price-wise, the Inspira costs significantly less than the Lancer in Malaysia because it is assembled locally, whereas the Mitsubishi is imported as a CBU from Japan. Not only are import duties much lower, but the investment Proton made to produce the model locally entitles it to financial incentives from the government that allows it to bring down prices.
However, certain parties have criticised Proton for returning to the practice of rebadging cars. A practice Proton had moved away from, with the release of the Proton Waja in the year 2000. Proton continued to independently develop 6 more models after that.
Proton group managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir has reportedly said that it would cost Proton as much as RM700mil (USD230mil) to develop a new car from the ground up but only half the amount via its collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors. This enables the Proton Inspira to be marketed at a cheaper price.
Mitsubishi allowed Proton to rebadge the Lancer under conditions that there were no changes to any key features. The Inspira thus shares most of its components, including the powertrain which is imported in fully assembled form from Mitsubishi Motors Japan, with the Lancer. The Inspira did, however, feature tweaked suspension in order to improve the driving dynamics and handling, whilst Proton also worked to improve the build quality of the Inspira. The improvements to the car drew praise from Mitsubishi management after they inspected the Inspira in Shah Alam.
Specifications
As of 2012, Proton Inspira is offered in 2 powertrain configurations.