"We hope to open our office by the first quarter of 2006," said Haris Fadzilla Hassan, head of the company's strategic-planning department.
The company first plans to export its latest models, the Gen-2 and the Waja, one of the most popular Malaysian cars, to Russia. It will then subsequently assemble cars in Russia.
Russia will receive the first batch of cars as payment for the Sukhoi warplanes it is currently exporting to Malaysia.
The first several thousand Malaysian cars are to arrive in Russia this September. The main shipment will follow sometime in January or February, if initial sales prove successful.
Proton said it chose Russia for its economic stability and current forecasts for greater local car demand.
Proton turns out 380,000 cars per year, mostly selling them in Singapore, Britain and the Middle East. The company implements knock-down assembly programs at its several enterprises in Iran and Indonesia. It is also in the negotiating process with Beijing.
Russian experts explain Proton's active expansion by its reduced domestic-market share, due to foreign carmakers' aggressive policies.
The company's Malaysian-market share shrank from 60% to 44% last year.
