Developing a completely new vehicle is a complex and highly detailed process, usually taking 36 months from initial concept stage, to the production of a road-worthy model. PROTON's state-of-the-art facilities combined with the expertise of Proton skilled engineers mean the process of developing new models has been reduced to 24 months.
-
01: Concept Development
Every new vehicle development begins with Concept Formulation: a brainstorming process placing you, the consumer, at the centre of the idea: trying to forecast exactly what you will expect and need from your car, through studying styling trends and product segmentation, several years before you've even started thinking about buying it.
Idea Sketches are hand-drawn, and modeled using computer tools like ALIAS. Scale Models (1:3 ratio) are built, and upon concept approval, the concept will progress to the Design Development phase.
-
02: Design Development
This phase of the development begins to fill in the details of the concept car, supported by sophisticated digitising layout planning computer modeling software which creates external surface (A-surface) data form and shape.
A 1:1 full-size scale model is built, finished and painted, and if this is approved, a Styling-Engineering Feasibility study examines the practicality of body engineering and car internal systems installations, while 3D computer modeling adds refinement to the computer-simulated model, together with internal surface data (B-surface).
-
03: Engineering & Testing Development
Engineering Development.
From the Model Fix, engineers produce component drawings and simultaneously simulate the properties of body shell rigidity, strength and crashworthiness, using Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) to comply to safety standards.
Prototype Development.
Soft Tooling parts are developed with the specified designs and materials. PROTON's Prototype Shop is able to assemble and produce the final prototype car testing and validation.
Testing Development.
PROTON facilities are the best in South-East Asia, providing comprehensive testing for Component, Material, Safety Strength and Complete Vehicle Validation to ensure vehicles meet specified standards and safety requirements.