Proton Holdings Berhad has just appointed a new board member today – Mr Behara Venkata Rama Subbu, also known as BVR Subbu in short. 56 year old BVR Subbu has vast automotive industry experience, notably for his leadership in Hyundai Motors India where he last served as President. Before that, he was attached to Tata Administrative Services from 1978 to 1996 where he formulated various strategies in the areas of marketing, sales, service, spare parts and vehicle finance.
After 9 years in Hyundai Motors India, BVR Subbu left to take on advisory roles in several automotive outfits based in India. He also currently holds a directorship in Avasarala Technologies Ltd, a specialised component and module manufacturer. As you can probably guess by now, BVR Subbu’s appointment should have something to do with an effort to enter the huge Indian market that cannot be ignored for any upcoming automaker these days. He knows the ins and outs of the Indian automotive market and his experience will be valuable.
“BVR Subbu’s extensive experience in the Indian automotive market will be valuable in our plans to expand our business in India. With BVR Subbu on our Board, the Company is now more equipped in its effort to focus on PROTON’s long term export strategy, particularly in the ASEAN, China and India markets,” said Proton chairman Dato’ Nadzmi.
The appointment of BVR Subbu could be linked to the previously rumoured talks between Proton and Argentum Motors. We found out back in February 2008 through Indian media that Proton was talking to Argentum Motors about contract manufacturing or sourcing of components. Subbu is one of the entrepreneurs behind Argentum Motors.
Argentum has a plant in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, which it acquired from GM Daewoo. Argentum’s business model is similar to that of Magna. Magna makes components but also manufactures the whole car for other companies. However, Argentum Motors has yet to seal a deal with anyone, with the latest potential customer being GM (who owned Argentum’s plant in the first place) in a deal related to the Chevrolet Tavera.
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hope this guy can bring P1 forwards
send savvy lite to india!
hope p1 can penetrate indian market and being global car maker.. fight those tata motor, maruti suzuki, mahindra. Good luck
hope this will not be a waste appointment..
btw,this guy had made hyundai a strong brand in india..
hope he will do the same thing with proton's presence in india soon..
proton is 25 years old and it has been neglecting world's biggest RHD market. even though auto business in India is not easy (70% of its 1 billion population lives in poverty) with its high petrol price, cars above 1500cc are rare and exclusive for the riches.
diesels are favourites, but main competition comes from the local brands – Maruti, Mahindra and Tata which are somehow protected by the govt to prevent from collapsing.
alldisc said,
March 1, 2010 @ 7:53 pm
diesels are favourites, but main competition comes from the local brands – Maruti, Mahindra and Tata which are somehow protected by the govt to prevent from collapsing.
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And to think Malaysians are crying foul because of our protected market…
Hope he come from high class kasta "brahmin". No point engaged person only like to shout only. Go P1….
yeah welcome mr behra… use more proton car in hindustan movie..sure kaboom lah sale…
Doesn't the Indians there love french cars?
Ship the Savvy!
i wished for proton to hire some top class marketing team…not sure as a director how much say does he have on actuall products needed…..
use proton not only in hindustan movie,but also in tamil movie..ask rajinikandh to use proton when chasing the bad guys..sure proton sales will kaboom
who is this?
db8 said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
use proton not only in hindustan movie,but also in tamil movie..ask rajinikandh to use proton when chasing the bad guys..sure proton sales will kaboom
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Dude, you're brilliant! Don't forget the singing and dancing scene too!
"db8;use proton not only in hindustan movie,but also in tamil movie..ask rajinikandh to use proton when chasing the bad guys..sure proton sales will kaboom"
winnnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is very good marketing strategy indeed.. hire Indian to cater India market
how about perodua our bolehland jaguh kampung?? can sell only in Mlayasia??? In India.. Daihatsu doesn't allow perodua to sell their car???pprrrrfthh
frossonice said,
March 1, 2010 @ 9:21 pm
db8 said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
use proton not only in hindustan movie,but also in tamil movie..ask rajinikandh to use proton when chasing the bad guys..sure proton sales will kaboom
===============================
Dude, you’re brilliant! Don’t forget the singing and dancing scene too!
>>> Well, Sha… I mean, Datuk Shah Rukh Khan can help… right?
:)
Hope things will turn in better prospects this time.
Look how smart Dato' Syed Zainal and Syukur COE……..
They are better than last proton management team…..
Tahniah Proton…………
Aris Anuar nak ikut join ke pergi India nanti ??? Forget it la…..
proton seems to be making the news a lot nowadays with a lot of interesting news.
Proton will most likely need someone who is able to do marketing well over to other countries as well. Setting up more factories and offices in countries like India, China and even EU…..This will improve the overall image and reputation of the the company. And also with the help of Mitsu, Lotus and maybe Renault. Proton should be able to slowly reach it targets.
Furthermore, Proton will need to improve on its QC and reliability problems and have more engine variant for the Campro engine. It is important for Proton to have their own engine and to depend on themselves.
Mazda 3 MPS + ANTI PROTON ULTRAS said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
who is this?
_____________________________
Pity. This Mazda guy can't even read.
Bring in cheap steel material…and labor?!
gov or proton should setup a tabung for the indian mamak or car wash worker here. they can register with the tabung and cut their salary rm100 every month into the tabung, then they are entitle to buy p1 over there with cheap price after they going back to chennai for their retirement.
RunnerUp said,
March 1, 2010 @ 11:13 pm
Mazda 3 MPS + ANTI PROTON ULTRAS said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
who is this?
_____________________________
Pity. This Mazda guy can’t even read.
….
how can he read? he not even had a brain. hahaha
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Good move proton, penetration need strategy!. And yesss.. use that Datuk shah rukh kan. Aiswarya rai too..
Either you guys must be kidding or have no idea of the dynamics of the Indian Market.
To whoever who said "Maruti, Mahindra and Tata which are somehow protected by the govt to prevent from collapsing."
All the above companies are privately owned companies Govt of India does not own them. Maruti had Govt stake which was sold to Suzuki quite sometime back and it is now a listed company owned in majority by Suzuki Corp of Japan. Infact Maruti Suzuki is Suzuki's biggest contributor in terms of profits. Mahindra and Tata are not Govt owned or protected.
Tata is a conglomerate with Automobiles being one of their many divisions. Have you heard of Tetley tea and guess it is owned by the Tata's. Their biggest division is TCS or Tata Consultancy Services which alone employs here in the US over 15,000. Tata's also own Tata Technologies which does third party engineering services for automotive and aerospace industries.
Subbu is an old Hyundai hand but left to startup Argentum which now makes parts rather than assemble entire cars. But they do have the capacity to assemble whole cars since they now own the assembly plant of the now defunct Daewoo.
The automobile market in India is going to be a tough nut to crack. For those who joke about Hindustan Ambassador, it is now more of a history. Most of them are taxis and Govt owned vehicles, Other than Govt and quasi Govt agencies nobody buys them, There are hundreds of of old Hindustan in the road which is just a legacy now.
The Indian market mainly consists of compacts and sub-compacts which is being fought for by Maruti-Suzuki, Tata, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, VW, Ford Fiat, Renault and GM.
Many of them like Toyota, Ford, GM and VW have either introduced India specific models or like VW have tailored an existing model like Polo for India.
Unless Proton has something compelling that these manufacturers do not offer, it will be a tough sell.
Good luck to Proton !!!
Mohan Nair, good comment. Now this move makes sense. Good business sense from Proton too. Argentum will do a Perodua then. Buy CKD kits, supply some parts on their own and assemble the cars at their factory.
Best of luck to them, I have a feeling that they will need a lot it. Proton needs to focus more on design. Like it or not, proton cars looks so damn boring. Don't even start talking on the interior.
Good move for proton, they now import expertise from out side and may be one day they can appoint man like chris bangle or peter schyer…..
Mazda 3 MPS + ANTI PROTON ULTRAS said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
who is this?
Your father
Mazda 3 MPS + ANTI PROTON ULTRAS said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:44 pm
who is this?
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buta huruf ka?
Ehmmm….more news….3 years from now also nothing. Mark my word.
This guy can only stand 1 year in P1.
Potong jgn tak potong….
Lingkup, jgn tak lingkup….
GOOD JOB DSZ and PROTON TEAM..
Apapun saya lebih suka Proton setup kilang di India untuk tackle market disana dan tempatkan BVR Subbu sbg Ketua Proton di India.. Proton selain lantik BVR Subbu juga perlu adakan kerjasama dengan sykt tempatan India untuk mendapatkan manfaart tertentu daripada kerajaan India antarnya status sbg kereta nasional India..
Market India skrg didominasi Suzuki dari Jepun dan nampaknya India memerlukan kenderaan bersaiz kecil, enjil kecil dgn bahan bakar yg terbukti menjimatkan.. So untuk Proton tackle market India
1) bina kereta kecil, enjin kecil cc kecil dengan penjimatan minyak yg optimum. Bahan bakar di sana mahal
2) pastikan harga Proton murah disana. Harga Proton skrg terbukti Overpriced. Tak percaya cuba tengok Harga Proton di Singapura. Kebanyakan model lebih mahal berbanding mana2 pengeluar Korea, China dan Jepun yg lebih establish.. Hyundai Avante dan Kia Forte lebih murah berbanding Saga BLM. Kalau Proton dieskprot ke Jepun, sudah tentu harga keretanya entr level ( Saga BLM – anggap bebas cukai di Jepun ) melebihi/ menyamai harga Mitsubishi Lancer
3) pastikan after sales services terbaik.. kaw yg nak jual Proton tu make sure dah ada SC baru jual kereta.. pastikan spare part boleh dpt dlm masa kurang 3 hari terutama masalah2 minor..
4) guna pelakon tamil kalau nak kuasai pasaran selatan dan hindustan nak kuasai pasaran utara. Owang india ni gila wayang.
5) pastikan design, teknologi, ciri2 setanding pesaing tetapi pada harga 15% lebih murah ( pesaing anda dah ada nama sebaliknya anda belum dikenali )
6) bagi warranty 5 tahun dan option sambungan warranty hingga 7 tahu, 9 tahun dan 11 tahun dengan tambahan bayaran untuk meyakinkan pengguna produk Proton berkualiti
7) pastikan setiap pelanggan yg membeli/ mahu membeli dilayan spt raja ( client is the king ).. kalau boleh setiap 2 minggu sekali selepas pembeli beli Proton, call pembeli tny keadaaan kereta ok atau tidak… Ini bg menunjukkan Proton sebuah company bertanggungjawab thdp produk dijual bukan jenis lepas tangan
8) Beri pendidikan kepada pembeli ttg teknologi, kelebihan Proton melalui ekspo, pameran, laman web untuk meyakinkan pembeli Proton terbaik dr segi handling, tuning misalnya.. hehe
9) last sekali pastikan kereta yg dijual x da masalah rosak major problem.. yg minor2 tu pun cuba minimumkan seboleh mungkin.,
Anak Malaysia said,
March 2, 2010 @ 9:03 am
Good move for proton, they now import expertise from out side and may be one day they can appoint man like chris bangle or peter schyer…..
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Chris Bangle is ok, but if he designed Protons like the BMWs, surely the cars will get flamed, with Malaysians doing the most virulent flaming. As for Peter Schreyer, his new Kia cars sure looks nice, but that's the key problem. He's with Kia.
Proton need to come out with some small and fuel economic car. Come out with a smaller than Savvy car, with the displacement of less than 1000cc. That will be attractive than those Saga, Gen2 in India market
Hameed Koyakuti said,
March 2, 2010 @ 11:46 am
Ehmmm….more news….3 years from now also nothing. Mark my word.
This guy can only stand 1 year in P1.
Potong jgn tak potong….
Lingkup, jgn tak
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lau lebih 3 years aku cabar ko ko potong ko punye anu sendiri..ada brand ka
proton needs to focus on capturing and dominating the local market first before venturing to other places where they will be at a level playing field with others.
tira said,
March 2, 2010 @ 2:29 pm
Hameed Koyakuti said,
March 2, 2010 @ 11:46 am
Ehmmm….more news….3 years from now also nothing. Mark my word.
This guy can only stand 1 year in P1.
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but i think this guys will stay abit longer then 1 year…. he is citizen of India…he is very good in manipulate
This Mazda 3 guy is a disgrace to the Mazda brand. Please read…..
If you make Savvy spec like nano with no frills in India, probably it will sell.
they can hire Obama and still cannot untangle the web of red tape inside proton.