KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia's money-losing national car maker Proton launched a new stylish sedan Wednesday that it hopes will lift its sagging sales and return the company to profit.

The new model, together with Proton's new ventures in China, will "mark the emergence of Proton from its low ebb," Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin said in the company statement.

Proton has been losing money and market share in Malaysia, Southeast Asia's biggest passenger car market. Its domestic market share has plunged to around 23 percent from 60 percent in 2002 amid stiff competition from both domestic and foreign rivals.

Syed Zainal was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying that Proton hopes to export the new car to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Britain and Australia to reap economies of scale. Proton "cannot concentrate on the domestic market alone as it is getting smaller and smaller. That's why export is going to be the approach," he said, according to the Bernama report.

State-owned Proton aims to sell 30,000-40,000 units of the 1.6 liter Proton Persona within the first year of launch, Chairman Azlan Hashim told reporters. Proton said in its statement it could sell up to 48,000 units of the car during the first 12 months.

Available in auto and manual versions, the car is competitively priced between 44,999 ringgit (US$12,857, euro9,460) and 55,800 ringgit (US$15,943,euro11,730), officials said.

The company, which is 43 percent-owned by state investment arm Khazanah Nasional, reported a loss of 591.4 million ringgit (US$169 million, euro124 million) for the year ended March 31, 2007 but it expects to be profitable in the new financial year.

Last month, Proton said it would sell at least 30,000 cars to Chinese firm Youngman Automobile Manufacturing Co., marking its first foray into China.

The car maker is also still in talks with Germany's Volkswagen AG on a possible alliance, with a final decision expected to be made by the end of the year, officials have said. The entry of a foreign partner is crucial to help consolidate and strengthen its business, Proton has said.

Proton has also pledged to cut costs, boost exports and introduce new models to prop up sales.

Besides the new Persona sedan, Proton plans to release other models including a multipurpose vehicle in 2009, officials said.

Proton thrived for years in a protected environment in which high duties were imposed on imported vehicles, forcing many Malaysians to buy Proton cars. But duties have been slowly lowered in line with a regional trade pact, and more Malaysians are buying imported cars.