PROTON is investing £7 million to establish its own engineering facilities at Lotus supported by up to 150 engineers and technicians. The investment follows Proton's recent acquisition of the troubled Lotus Group.

The Proton Project Centre will house a body design and engineering facility with state-of-the-art design engineering aids including 40 computer aided design work stations. It will allow Proton to undertake engineering design and prototype vehicle body building in Europe for the first time, and should give the Malaysian company a significant boost in the British market.