Malaysian automaker Proton Holdings Berhad (but known more commonly and styled as PROTON) was founded on 7th May 1983 and between the years of 1985 to the beginning of the turn of the century, they manufactured vehicles from Mitsubishi Motors. Since then, Proton have produced some of their own designs and markets its cars in 26 countries, most of which are in Asia. They rely very heavily on its domestic market.
Interestingly, the United Kingdom has been the export market which has brought most sales for Proton. Between 1986 and 1997, the company exported 164,153 cars to the UK, and in 1992 the Proton Saga was listed in the 20 best selling cars in the country. Recently, Proton have been hitting the UK market hard with the introduction of four new models, the Preve, the Suprima S, the Exora and the GSC, all coming between the end of 2013 and 2014.
Well known British car manufacturer Lotus is a subsidiary of Proton, which employs roughly 12,000 people. And to strengthen the UK's ties with the Malaysian car maker even further, the Proton Impian were once used in the Humberside Police Force.