PROTON rocketed into the fleet sales top ten after clinching a revolutionary supply contract with daily rental giant Avis Rent A Car. The Malaysian manufacturer is supplying 2,500 of its Persona upper medium contender over the next three months in a deal which catapulted Proton to number eight in the December fleet sales chart with 1,490 units.

More significant, however, is the ground-breaking disposal scheme Proton has engineered to limit nearly new supply and preserve residual values in the UK when the 12,000-mile six-month-old vehicles are defleeted. Although British Proton dealers will have the option to buy back some of the vehicles, the majority will be shipped back to Malaysia to satisfy burgeoning demand for nearly new vehicles in one of the world's fastest-growing car economies.

The manufacturer is in negotiation with Avis to supply another sizeable chunk of product for the 1997 financial year and is also talking to one other daily rental company.