In Germany they will have to pay 19% tax afaik, and it is similar to other countries as well. How high is the tax for P1 and P2 here? Some more when the car is imported to Europe rather than produced there then shipping costs will be high too (the Japanese have a problem with this and with the high yen, that's why Daihatsu will cease operations at least in Germany. Japan built cars are just too expensive, especially since Daihatsu is a budget oriented brand).

Why would P1 make a car with high safety standards just for the Malaysian market? Toyota can sell any ... they want at high prices, and people will still buy them, despite a total disregard towards safety. Unless they want to advertise the car with a high safety standard to go against the Fiesta, Forte, ... at a lower price? Could be interesting, but I'm not sure they would want to start a safety race, because many of their other cars are exactly safe.

Furthermore if you consider the spec that for example the Fiesta has it is actually rather affordable. 82k for a car that is as well equipped as the Fiesta sedan, with that engine? You pay a similar amount in Germany (not counting any discounts...), but without DSG. So including DSG which is usually a maybe 2000 Euro option minus the discount you get you'll to a similar price.

I believe the Malaysian government sets a price at which the car can be sold, but the spec is open to the importer. So lets say a small car, size of a Saga or perhaps Persona must be significantly more expensive than the P1/P2 alternative... so instead of 40-60k, it will be 80k. However, they may not earn a lot in taxes. As I mentioned such a Fiesta in Germany would, if it were available (no sedan available, no DSG available) also be somewhere around 80k. We know that the tax is 19%, so it might be safe to assume that the car will be taxed somewhere in that region too (although Ford might make a nice profit on the options in Europe).

The reason why cars are cheaper in Europe is because you can buy them naked. No aircon, no powered windows, no anything (it's not _that_ bad anymore, but I can easily double or triple the price of many cars just by choosing a bigger engine and ticking all the options, especially if it is a German car (the French, Koreans and sometimes Japanese have fewer boxes to tick...)). Usually the safety standard is still rather high, even the Dacia has a minimum of 2 airbags, and that's very much the low end. A Daihatsu Sirion (MyVi) comes with a minimum of 4 airbags, my almost base spec Citroen Xsara from 2002 had 6.
A VW here is usually pretty much top of the line, except for a few options (heated seats or a sat nav for which there are probably no Malaysian maps) that won't make sense, and without having tried it I think it should be around the same price as what you would pay for a similar car in Germany. Citroens may be a bit different, they seem to cost more than they would in Germany (again, I haven't checked, but I don't remember them having many optional options... most things are included). As if the government tests the car, says... mh, this is intended for rich people, high end car, feels expensive, so we'll have to price it very high, regardless of the actual price.

@mutt: Not really trying to bash P1, I quite like their newer efforts, might even buy one if I didn't have a car already. Also, when they start competing with contis that's a good sign, not?

@Matrix: Admittedly it's not very fair to compare the Proton to a diesel. The VW Touran 1.4 TSI with 140 hp is supposed to be around 7-8L (officially 6.8, but that's a bit optimistic, as always), so comparable to the Exora (it's a bit smaller, between Alza and Exora). Not bad.

Btw., in Europe the Japanese sell different cars. Something like the Avanza wouldn't stand a chance there, it would be unsellable. No Corolla, no Vios, no Avanza, no Camry, no Wish, ... only the Hilux, Prius (Rush available as a Daihatsu).