It is easy to forget that the Proton Exora has actually been around for about 14 years now as the budget family MPV was first introduced in 2009. That tenure is perhaps coming to an end soon as our sources close to the matter report that production of the Proton Exora will cease by the end of 2023.
Proton has recently introduced its new 6/7-seater vehicle and it is the Proton X90. The Proton X90, however, is an SUV and not an MPV like the Exora. A more appropriate successor for the Exora would be the Geely Jiaji (the speculated Proton V70 from some time ago) but it doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon.
During the Proton X90’s media preview, it was asked whether the Proton Exora will be discontinued or perhaps refreshed. Proton Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Roslan Abdullah said that the arrangement is flexible. He said that “Everything we produce will be based on the market requirement” and that “If there is a demand and the volume is justifiable for our investment, Proton will be glad to be involved in a 7-seater MPV or more because our task is to build a vehicle to move people from point A to point B.”
With the latest information given by our sources, it seems that we will be bidding farewell to the Proton Exora by the end of the year as its production will stop by the end of 2023. Whether or not the Exora will have an MPV successor is still not yet known.
RELATED: 2022 Proton Exora launched – RM3k pricier, but what’s new?
The last refresh given to Proton Exora was in 2022 which introduced electronic stability control (ESC) on all variants. The refresh also gave the Proton Exora a price hike of RM3,000. Largely unchanged on the outside, the latest version of the Proton Exora is adorned with the latest Proton emblem.
Powering the Proton Exora is Proton’s 1.6-litre turbocharged CamPro engine that outputs 140 hp and 205 Nm. Paired with that engine is a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Sitting on the same chassis for more than ten years, the Exora still only offers 2 airbags.
Standard safety features include the usual ABS, EBD, and ESC (The standard ESC is new for the Proton Exora). No advanced safety features are provided in the Exora. After a long run as the budget MPV and always topping the charts in its segment in Malaysia, it seems that we will soon bid farewell to the Proton Exora.
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