During its peak in the 1990s, Proton exported cars to every continent on the planet except North America and Antarctica. The fact that a carmaker from Southeast Asia with a nascent automotive industry is capable of exporting its models across the globe is a remarkable achievement.

Proton struggled in many markets outside of Malaysia and began pulling out of most of those countries. Eventually, Proton would restart its export plans following a takeover by Geely in 2017 but after 6 years, the destinations aren’t considered major.

The Malaysian Tiger currently exports to 15 markets in Africa like Kenya, Mauritius, and Mozambique as well as Asian countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. Aside from South Africa and Pakistan, the export markets Proton are in aren't considered major volume markets.

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Closer to home, Proton aims to make a return to Thailand and Indonesia but those plans are hitting a snag due to the respective governments’ policies. Just like Malaysia, these countries’ governments impose higher taxes for imported cars to encourage local assembly or partnership with vendors.

Also read: Indonesia will limit import of Proton X70 until Malaysia opens up its car market further

At a press conference following the media preview of the Proton S70, Roslan Abdullah, Deputy CEO of Proton, said that should the S70 be exported overseas, it will be towards markets it’s currently in, though it will be difficult to enter higher volume automotive markets like Thailand and Indonesia.

“I think we will still maintain (exporting the S70) to our current 15 export markets but not all countries will get it. There is a big potential for the S70 in Pakistan though we can't exactly say when it will be launched there due to the current economic situation,” Roslan responded to a question posed by the media on the S70’s potential for export markets.

He continued, “(Proton) has plans for Thailand and Indonesia but the only concern is that due to the government policy, we have to set up a plant over there. If we want to export to bigger markets, we have to set up an operation with their local vendors.”

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Proton was last represented in Thailand by Phranakorn Auto Sales until 2015 while in Indonesia, Proton pulled out of the market around the late 2010s.

Roslan also revealed to the media that there are plans to launch the S70 in at least one overseas market “as soon as possible” though he has not mentioned which market it would be.

The Proton S70 is P1’s first all-new sedan model since the current generation Persona was launched in 2016. The Geely Emgrand-based car is powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre 3-cylinder engine (150 PS/226 Nm) and offers C-segment-like dimensions with prices that are expected to be closer to a B-segment.

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Bookings for the S70 which is offered in 4 variants are open in all Proton showrooms nationwide but prices will only be revealed later during its highly-anticipated launch.