Proton 1.5L TGDi three-cylinder engine is now locally assembled in Tg Malim, including 30% domestic content

By far the biggest news surrounding the recent launch 2022 Proton X70 is the new engine option – 1.5 liter turbocharged three-cylinder, first seen in the smaller version X50. Except this is not the same factory, as it is not boxed from China but assembled in Malaysia.

This was announced ahead of a media test drive on Tuesday, during which we were able to sample the miniature engine – you can Read our first impressions here. The three-cylinder, which replaces the old 1.8-liter cylinder on most variants, is being built on a new production line at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant.

According to Powertrain Executive Vice President Muhamad Hasbullah bin Ismail, the new engine is made from 30% of Malaysian-made parts; We have been informed that this is beyond government requirements. As a result, the X70 is now available the amount of local content is close to 70%Md Fariza bin Ibrahim, the vehicle’s chief engineer, said.

It has been known for a long time that the national carmaker has invited suppliers to make engine parts, with Sapura Industrial announcing that early May of last year that it was contracted to supply camshafts and torsion damper. The company has also been steadily enhancing local content for the X70 itself, which stands at 45% when the CKD model is Launching in early 2020.

Building the Geely-Volvo engine in-house is an important step towards Proton’s ultimate goal of replace its old CamPro factory with a three-leaf pot. This is main reason behind the development of a port-to-port (PFI) variant for use in cheaper car models, although currently only the more powerful direct injection (TGDi) version is being produced domestically. There’s no word yet on whether the X50 will also receive the CKD factory, although it stands to reason that it should get it sooner rather than later – if it hasn’t already, of course.

It’s one thing to fit an engine into Proton’s Geely-based products, but models are designed in native style will be the next frontier. While Exora is due to a small change (MC) This year, we know that the old MPV will get a more comprehensive facelift at some point in the near future – and hopefully the old CamPro CFE turbo engine will be replaced with a new 1.5-litre unit. , presumably in PFI form. We can also expect eventual replacements for the Saga, Iriz and Persona models designed with this engine in mind.

For now, the 1.5-litre CKD engine will make its debut in the 2022 X70, starting at RM93,900 for the 1.5 TGDi Standard and rising to RM117,900 for the 1.5 TGDi Premium. The old 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine – still sourced from Geely in China – sits in the top-spec 1.8 TGDi Premium, priced at RM121,800.

GALLERY: 2022 Proton X70 1.5 TGDi Premium