‘Proton car prices set to rise with SST’

Proton Edar Sdn Bhd CEO Abdul Rashid Musa says it is best to place an order during the transition period before the new tax takes effect.

Prices of Proton cars are expected to rise between RM1,500 and RM3,000. (Bernama pic)

SHAH ALAM: Proton Edar Sdn Bhd expects the prices of Proton vehicles to increase by between RM1,500 to RM3,000 with the reintroduction of the Sales and Service Tax (SST) in September.

Its chief executive officer Abdul Rashid Musa advised the public to buy the car of their choice during the transition from the zero-rated goods and services tax (GST) to SST.

“We expect the price of Proton vehicles to go up after the implementation of the SST even though we have yet to ascertain the accurate figures as the government has yet to announce the tax mechanism.

“The calculation of the price increase (RM1,500-RM3,000) was made based on the GST introduced by the previous government to replace the SST where the prices of Proton cars then were reduced by between RM1,500 and RM3,000.

“As such, when the SST is re-introduced, we expect there will be a similar increase in the quantum price,” he said after the Proton Wealth on Wheels (WOW) Challenge prize presentation here today.

The public can still book all Proton vehicles now as the stocks are still sufficient to meet the demand during the transition period from the zero-rated GST to the SST, Rashid said.

However, he hoped they would not be too choosy with the variants and colours if they want to buy the cars immediately.

WOW, a collaboration between Proton and Grab Malaysia, requires the e-hailing service drivers to compete for the most fare collection with a single tank of fuel in their Proton cars in the Klang Valley without refuelling.

The competition was divided into three categories, namely Proton Iriz, Saga and Persona cars, with each winner taking home a sales voucher worth RM6,888 for the purchase of a new Proton car. -FMT