The launch of the two revamped models comes on the back of the highly successful launch of the Proton X70, which has received more than 25,000 bookings in its launch month alone.
Proton chairman Syed Faisal Albar said the Iriz and Persona are offered at affordable prices with 300 part changes made.
“We’ve added the famous Intelligent Head Unit (IHU), making the Iriz and Persona the newest addition to our range of ‘talking-cars’.
“No other cars in the same segment and price bracket offer this functionality. So, we are proud to pioneer the technology of Internet cars which aim to be more affordable for this segment of the market,” he said at the launch of the new models here today.
The Iriz’s on the road prices are set from RM36,700 to RM50,700 for Peninsular Malaysia and from RM38,700 to RM52,700 for Sabah and Sarawak.
The Persona is priced from RM42,600 to RM54,600 for the peninsula and from RM44,600 to RM56,600 for Sabah and Sarawak.
Syed Faisal said Proton is now able to address future challenges following its partnership with China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely).
“After years of existence and investing in the entire infrastructure of Proton, we knew Proton lacked economies of scale to recoup the investments made.
“This, over the years, affected many other things, such as cost competitiveness, quality and technology offering.
“To overcome this, we knew we had to be within a bigger auto family and thus, we decided to find a suitable strategic partner,” he said.
Syed Faisal said that within a short time with Geely, Proton has been able to achieve much, with the crowning achievement so far being the launch of the X70.
He said the X70 has set the record for most registrations by an SUV in its launch month in December last year, with over 25,000 bookings received.
“When the X70 managed to achieve this record, we did not jump up for joy but rather breathed a sigh of relief that our hard work and strategy were recognised.
“And when the X70 won the Best Connectivity & Infotainment Editors’ Choice Award, we did not celebrate with mega parties but rather thank the Almighty that there is now a real chance for us to redeem the pride of our employees,” he said.