Last week, we picked up a report from Business Times that said Volkswagen AG had earmarked the Polo for Proton to remodel, and that Proton’s Polo will be priced below RM70,000.
Quoting insider sources, the report even mentioned where the proposal was made (Hong Kong) and who was involved (VW’s Head of Commercial Operations China/ASEAN Soh Wei Ming and DRB-Hicom’s chief operating officer, Datuk Lukman Ibrahim).
At yesterday’s unveiling of the CKD Volkswagen Passat in Pekan, DRB-Hicom’s Group MD Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil rubbished talks of Proton rebadging VW models. DRB-Hicom is of course the new owner of national carmaker Proton, and counts VW as partner and biggest customer of its Pekan facility.
“The reports got me by surprise,” Khamil said. “Rebadging was never in our plans. If we want to develop the national auto industry, we got to move forward. Rebadging is taking a step backwards,” he said, adding that “short term pains, but long term gains” is needed for Proton.
“I may have to eat my words someday, but as long as I’m in charge, I will never allow that [rebadging] to happen,” he stated firmly.
However, no rebadging doesn’t mean that Proton, a small carmaker in the grand scheme of things, needs to do it all alone, for Khamil believes that Proton needs a reputable OEM as partner.
So there you go, erase that RM70k “Proton Sago” from your mind!
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
kasi saman sama itu business times RM100 juta!
Moral of the story:
DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING U READ ….
especially when the newspapers are owned by stupid BN govt
Simply taruh to create sensations, real morons!
pro oppo web news even worst…u cannot differentiate bet real news n fabricated news..n the oppo paper from 1st page until last page one favorite word use…UM**. If u dont believe buy one..
Opp papers like MalaysianInsider is million times better than reading Utusan Meloya.
but oppo paper got 1000x more fabricated news and ubat kuat. i rather choose utusan meloya bcoz it has sports news and also neelofa.for politic section i do skipped it.
aloo… limpek aaa.. apa kena mngena dgn Govt? Lu punye kepala aaa.. mmg penuh itu taik politik aaa.. dari bangun tido sampai tido balik suma politik kaaa??? Aiyooo…
business times own by govt?
This idiot just destroy his own brand in M’sia ! if let Toyota or Honda even the Perodua is still ok but a Potongs lolx…
OMG….pls remember what DRB Hicom MD mentioned it here, “Rebadging was never in our plans. If we want to develop the national auto industry, we got to move forward. Rebadging is taking a step backwards”….Hope he can keep this promise.
well done DRB…proud of you..dont be like spartan and rotiboy..crap people..shame on you la… :)
Agreed…
Proud of what?then what about the so called “Inspira”which was inspired by “Lancer”?
Huh? Are you a buta sejarah? DRB took over proton and inspira launched. Got it? No? You are so FAIL
30 years call as “short term pains”???
then how many years to go to achieve “long term gains”?
wait till we are all dead…no pain..:)
Rotiboy is awesome no ? I love their coffee. :]
that Rotiboy of cos la awesome..
smells so good some more..
but username “Rotiboy” in this blog is the other way around..
This is another sample of “JAGUH KAMPUNG”….
Malaysia here have too much of these crap people
they said you crap… you said they crap… so, it makes everybody craps…
sure la malaysia has lots of craps…
i like fried ‘crabs’
Gonna buy a cup of bubble milk tea with Sago!
Not interested in re-badging news. I m more interested platform sharing stuff. Will they do it or not?
they will, once VW has some biq equities in Proton, as to what was done to Skoda, Seat and Audi
DRB ni masih tak belajar kesilapan rebadge Citroen jadi Tiara tu dulu…
Mohammad Suhaimi ni masih tak belajar kesilapan baca karangan di atas betul2 tu dulu…
GILE AH RAMAI GILE PEMINAT MATI2 PROTON. KOMEN ATAS NI PUN BOLE “LIKE” GEGILA.
oh my god…so many bloody jokers here..haishh
i don’t think its a rubbish old man..why not rebadging vw?? they are good is it?
i dont i like it…im prefer they rebadge their R&D n marketing with VW or hyundai-kia or the japs system….better yoo.
“I may have to eat my words someday…”
i can sense and feel that he may eat all his words in the future.
adohhh….kecewa!
Let’s blame the basher because we can’t get cheap Polo… Seems like the guy read the comments on the last post… LoL…
Thank God!
Finally, Proton is on par other car manufacturers from the rest of the world !
On par with the world? With wha? Or rather, in regards to? LOL :D
Oh yeah, I gues Potong is indeed on par with the world’s best… for Potong cars has 4 wheels just like the best in class from Korea, Japa and Europe… LOL :)
Ya, sure, what Proton sells in one year Toyota sells in three days.
i think that guy leaving soon lol.
or…VW still wanna clear the stock of old polo first. lol.
Usualy in biz world when u deny sting publicly…means its gonna hapen ! Besides… Vw got da leverage to do wat thy decide….
They dont control DRB…how can minority do that? Well if u said in malaysian perspective minority is majority..minority is power..
if this is the case, he should discontinue Inspira right away coz i’ts moving backward.
all car will move backward if you put the gear to R… jk!
ok, jokes aside.. eventhough inspira is just a rebadge, proton invested quite heavily on tools and machineries, might be in hundreds of millions RM. can’t simply terminate if the program is working fine… but i have a feeling that it won’t be for too long, the P3-21A might jeopardize Inspira in the near future.
inspira has stopped production in mid 2011 due to low demand in sales and the lesson proton learnt in 2006 – better to strop production and cut the losses!!
After I heard of rebadging polo as proton saga, I am very doubt about it because as I know Volkswagen will not let other carmaker to rebadge else, in china, Volkswagen will not become best selling cars. What I think proton must concentrate develop proton emas. I am sure it will become a best competitor to myvi. About saga replacement, it can be churned out from proton emas.
Y’all been trolled yet another time.
This VW trolling has been happening since 2005.
Exora bold, the new sedan, 2 great models, we’ll start slowly from there….
Slowly…..yalah wei….you working for proton huh ?
Mari kita cipta kereta! Malaysia Boleh!
so… what about Tengku Mahaleel return to Proton?
Is there any truth in it?
PaulTan.org, could you ask this to DRB?
I hope he doesnt return. He is the reason of Proton decline.
I love the firmness with which he dealt with this rumor. Most corporate heads would try and say as little as possible so that they don’t commit themselves to their statements. Things must just be looking good for Proton.
Good Job Proton.. Rebadging time is over.. need more new model on same quality with same class with other competitor..
If re-badging is so bad, then please stop selling the Inspira when P3 is launched.
APA INI DATUK KAMIL….PUTAR BELIT MANYAK KUAT? SUDAH PENING KA?
I’ll adopt wait and see attitude for P1 under the new management. But saying rebadging is a step backward is like a double edge sword.. hope P1 shall do better under DRB..
Good move I must say… Proton will no longer have identity once it starts reassembling other people’s car. What is the point having Proton if it is just an assembler?
Proton started already with Inspira mind you….
inspira? proton just want to learn CVT laa.. and of course – auto headlamp and auto wipers they never know before do exist!
Good, wise move, my faith in DRB- HICOM has been restored a little. We don’t want Proton to become lazy and unproductive like rebadging agent Perodua.
Still, I don’t trust DRB- HICOM 100% just yet.
Perodua : Rebadge? What rebadge, it’s call collaboration.
What!?
Now there is more like it.. happy to hear Proton finally is moving forward.. Bravo.
Heh heh! Polo owners need not lose sleep for a while now!
Actually, with the sub-par quality of Proton’s engineering, I am inclined to think that rebadging is moving forward rather than back. What’s wrong trying to rebadge something you can’t obtain on your own?
It’s better to keep your head above water than drown. We’re losing enough of the taxpayer’s money to Proton as it is, couple that with the taxes on other cars and we still have a white elephant.
It’s been 27 years, I am still not convinced Proton has come up with anything on par with any of the big 5 carmakers. After a quarter of a century, I think its time to admit defeat; we’re too small a market to sustain our own car industry. I seriously doubt that the money poured into research my Proton on a single model cannot compete against any of the big 5- even against another model of similar value.
You’ve had your chance; concede that we cannot as a small nation without an international foothold, keep up with the big boys. We’ve tried, 27 years we have tried.
U’re spot on! It’s been too long & we’ve compensated by driving cars of inferior quality & safety besides paying prohibitive prices in the name of protectionist measures! How many more lives & limbs need to be sacrificed needlessly? The rest of the world are paying less for their cars dollar for dollar & are getting NCAP 5 with 6 airbags thrown in. Don’t Malaysians deserve better? Are our lives cheaper & yet we pay for more expensive cars? What’s the point in flogging a dead horse. It’s time to move on! Live & let live i say!
most of Asia 2 airbags n below are common, same to south american n dont ever talk bout africa…the most rest of the world are like malaysia..work hard man if u want better quality car
thanks dude but i already drive a better car but like the rest of our brethren I feel that safety should never be compromised at the expense of the paying rakyat to further an industry. We’ve to stop mollycoddling a 25 year old baby, enough is enough. It’s time to wean the baby off its nurse maid. On working harder i have to agree with u that malaysians have to step out of its malaise & get back to having stronger work ethics!
to add salt to the wound, we malaysians have to pay higher price locally compared to the exported ones. Why????
ala.. buat kereta keras2..pasang airbag banyak2.. letak TC,EBD,ABS and macam2 lagi pun tak guna.. masih jugak ada smart driver yang tak reti nak pakai SIGNAL LAMP sebelum tukar lane and masuk simpang.. nanti proton tak bagi signal lamp..diorg complaint pulak.. kesian kesian kesian..
well said. I have a feeling P1 wants to increase the prices of their new models coz their market is small, so need to sell at a higher price. All this talk about better quality, equipment, etc will translate to higher prices… and the other brands always have to increase their prices to make way for P1. Also, have you notice P2’s pricing lately? End of the day, we are getting more expensive P1 & P2 cars. Well, that’s the price to pay for having a national car! Well done!
P2 rebadging drives good sales and bonuses. Why not my dear Kamil?
Another Photocopy vehicle on the road
Say YES to technology/platform sharing. Say NO to rebadge. Dont be like P2, pandai buat lampu je. PeacE!!
Ada lagi satu.., pandai buat logo.
Ada 1 lagi.. pandai buat bumper.. muahaha….!!
When the news came out few days ago, i said it make no sense VW has to do proton rebadge, some stupid proton supporter said I knew nothing. VW is already world 3th or 4th larger auto maker. It doesn’t has to depend on proton to met its sales numbers. Unless they let proton rebadge outdated model and engine to obtain sales on obsolete technology. Even if they do that, I bet some stupid fella here still buy it like hot cake.
haha i bet some DRB fellas actually read Paultan.org..wahahaha
not Sago, Poga!
I hope this guy doesn’t have to eat his words one day.
you think they care? hahahah
We must glad Volkswagen had decided to choose here as their regional hub. No other car makers had invest here. so, drb-hicom must give what Volkswagen want include tanjung malim plant.
Who cares rebadge or make own car or what! Business is business, as long as can make money. The way he says it he just does not want to rebadge makes no sense at all. Perodua has been rebadging all this while and he makes money. Period.
Don’t make us rakyat angry!
If we get angry! Even they start rebadge now or future, we WILL NOT BUY IT!
Let them DIE!
hi idiot, can you for once stop using the term ‘rakyat’? i wanna puke reading that over used and over-exploited word over and over again.
The major problem staring Proton in the face is that they just don’t sell enough cars. Sell more cars first. Who cares if it is own manufacture or re- badging?
Remember, pride goes before a fall.
selamat harga Polo aku….
Whats is so evil abt rebadging? As long both parties could benefit..why so negative abt it? Only thing u need a fair agreement to protect both sides interest..
its ok to rebadge than to copy. its called partnership….
like China copy merc….. its car pirate…
lexus rebadge toyota….. OMG
C’mon people, when VW launched the Passat and rumours has it will be CKD and guess what ? They say the same …… only time will tell but VW Jetta and Polo is next to be CKD.
Dey….VW dah awal2 bagi tahu passat dan jetta akan dipasang di pekan sebelum passt cbu dijual…bukan rumors la wei….tarak bachaaaa ka????
Yg buat cerita Polo nak rebadge jd proton tu sb takut ngan sale VW……kenapa x cakap jetta ke golf ke passat ke? Kenapa Polo?lu pikir sendiri la….
I only hope Proton will start producing SUVs or 4WDs in their line up, I mean real SUVs/4WDs (not like Kembara or what’s the replacement ‘s model name?) which is affordable. Hopefully with input from Toureg.
I’ll go buy me a Polo and swap the badge with a Proton then..one of a kind in M’sia only..kekeke
; )
That’s is actually a good idea! :mrgreen:
Don’t tok kok lah..
Maybe we will see a Inspira ASX in the near future??
i just dun wan a proton sago R3 as a rebadged vw polo gti
he sounded like a john carter! :) i like.
If our own economy of scale are low, why create P1 and P2 at first place? P1 may do rebadging only rather than R&D on engine n others. P2 oso may do d same but please with “adequate” sales price. Ultimate goal is to make affordable rakyat car with adequate safety. If rebadging or collaboration or whatever word u may call it can save money which later helping in reduce price for everybody, then y not?
The ultimate goal (if you ask Dr M) is not to make affordable car for the rakyat. It was to create automotive and related industries in Malaysia.
Malaysia did it with projek kereta nasional. Why we need 2, I don’t know.
Indonesia tried also. It didn’t go very well, I think.
Thailand did it by inviting foreign car makers in with incentives, some restrictions etc. It seems to work for them. Now Indonesia is doing the same.
The big agenda, for the government at least… and just pretend that all the people in the government are all honest people… just for a moment, just pretend lah…. is to create jobs or dynamic economic activities… to get more income for the nation. Cheap cars? That’s a byproduct. Maybe we get it, maybe not.
Proton> create big money to vendor development program yg quality tidak boleh dipertikai> jika ada complain dr proton engineer pasal quality barang vendor> pasti dia kene tukar bahagian lain> typical political minded in all malaysia industry
my hopes…my dreams…of buying a sub-70k VW…are all shattered into a million pieces…like a lightbulb dropped from the top of Burj Khalifa… ='(
why hopes and dreams shattered ? sub 70k VW is still possible – a 2nd hand Polo previous model of course.
Dun worry be happy
now thats hillarious
Off course la they not allow to rebadge. they jaga reputation maa.. money etc.. Vw looks crap when assimilate with proton..hahaha they already know..
susah la mentaliti rakyat malaysia ni, kete m’sia tiru kete luar(mitsu,toyota)..hasilnya org malaysia sendri yg condemn, xtiru bt sendri kene condemn jgk(waja, persona..etc). nk bt camna? nak suh p1 n p2 p lingkup? ada kt 20,000++ pekerja yg rata2 melayu bekerja dgn pembuat kereta nasional nih.
kena kondem kaw2 sampai lebam, kalo tak, takkan berubah. dah nak masuk 30 tahun takkan asyik nak kena ketuk jer org proton ni. takmola diorang lingkup, tapi diambilalih oleh company yang lain pon bagus, at least 20k pekerja masih ada kerja tapi KPI nyer kena ikut standard dunia, bukan standard syok sendiri buat kereta. kalo kereta proton ni murah takpela jugak, ini kualiti rendah tapi jual mahal, selection vendor perlu bebas dari unsur rasuah dan kroni, piawaian mesti tinggi barulah tak asyik kong tengah jalan je..dan ulang alik repair.
If you guys think of driving gud quality and safe car yet with cheaper price just ignore proton. Sooner or later it will die without sales.
Let proton closed shop. Then only we will have the chance. Letz influence people surrounding us not to buy proton.
do you think the government will abolished current tax on cars if proton close shop? keep dreamin bro.
hoping a new proton saga + tsi with ACT+ dual clutch
low roadtax , more power , can reach 1litre/100km ,
price 50k below,, thats a new WOW ….
why dislike ? dont it profit anyone ?
dont u all wanna taste world best technology with cheaper price? …
so , just go on with campro and CFE all that …
because u sound really ridiculous…..
x payah mintak proton rebadge VW…mintak je DRB jual model VW murah sket…at least kalu polo CKD kt msia kos dah jd lagi rendah
I’ve nvr seen rebaging VW cars before. Seat and Skoda or even Audi they are belonging to VW group. If let say Proton will come out VW cars they have to be part of VW group.
VW might not deal with Proton so now is become talking rubbish.
you all never learn…. especially paultan… sigh….this means SAGO is on!
Maybe DRB P1 can start making motorcycle/scooter from now on..since they got NO R gear, so it’s moving foward all the way kepala OTAK punya DRB P1!! Rebadging Polo under 70K is the only answer to get rid the Myvisss…
Don’t worry
DRB got Honda to do that (getting rid of Myvis)
HM are gonna price the 2014 Jazz below the 70k price by doing more than 70% localization.
The end of Myvi is near.
OMG….good news to all VW Polo owner…
This happened when the boss never discuss with their staff.. always make a decision like sh*t..
I think this guy will probably hv to eat his own words someday as there certainly strong possibility that VW will eat into thundercat.
On par…? Really or not….please lah….they know how to re-badge only but dunno to make all the Malaysians proud….First they re badge the Mitsubishi, Citroen and then VW……then which one later….Tak malu kah……….after 25 years….
ya loh…. like the other 1… first was a daihatsu… then another daihatsu… then another… then… oh damn… lost count already how many rebadge they did…. :)
talk c*ck la, this fella…..
hahahahhaha, I’m sorry, RM70k for a Proton POLO?hhahahhahahahhha
my dreams goneeee…. just like that…anyway, i still got, inspira-lancer…
“FedUpWithIgnorantPeople says:
6/3/2012 at 10:48 pm
So… everyone believed a report that the Polo will be rebadged as a Proton model (allegedly). This informer is working with VW or Proton? And the funny part is some people are already saying it would ruin VW reputation. Even comparing it to Skoda being bought over by VW and a lot more rubbish remark. Are Malaysian really that gullible?
Listen people… that is a rendering by TC. For heaven sake… read the title!!! How moronic can you guys be???”
I TOLD U SO!!! STILL WANNA BELIEVE ALL THINGS REPORTED BY NEWS AGENCY??? STILL MORONIC AS EVER HUH??? LOLS
Rebadge is a step backwards!!! Yeah!!
Tell that in the face of TM, DSZ and his management team.
What smart guys were they when they rebadged the Lancer!!
A no brainer & talk about stooping so low!!
So happy for the news… every POLO owner sure happy for it :)
just imagine , perdana passat at rm120 , if they called it perdana Baboon also i buy, then go to brothers change lah!!
Proton& produa suck. Takde krje ka nk curi design org je.kalau nk rebadge cherry alado boleh laaaa…new exora
Of course Proton does not need to rebadge for domestic market as long the Govt still protect the local auto industry but what about global market? He does not address the key challenges of Proton for global market… just like previous CEO.
Proton need reputably OEM partner does this implies that current OEM partner should ready to pack their bags and leave.
IF TOP MANAGEMENT OF PROTON OR DRB HICOM CAN’T BE PERFORM THEIR JOB, JUST STEP UP ! LET OTHERS QUALIFIED PEOPLE IN MALAYSIA FILLED POST.
SO SHAME ..THINK FIRST BEFORE TALK!
just wait and see anything can happen in business, down chart stablize improvement rebadging it seems local cars industry is thumbling up and down