Archive for Local News

Proton Holdings Bhd may appoint Syed Zainal Abidin Mohamed Tahir as the new chief executive officer of the company, replacing former CEO Tengku Mahaleel Ariff.

Zainal Abidin is currently the deputy managing director of Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd. (Perodua) and one of the four executive directors of Perodua Auto Corporation, the 49%-owned manufacturing arm of Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) and whose other shareholders are Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd (41%) and Mitsui & Co Ltd (10%).

Zainal Abidin used to work in Proton’s manufacturing division during the group’s early years of operation. He later joined Malaysian Trucks and Bus Sdn. Bhd, rised through the ranks to become CEO and moved on the Perodua to become it’s head of production.

Perodua officials said they’ve heard the rumours, but they are not at liberty to comment. Proton officials could not be contacted.

Source: The Edge Daily, Yahoo Finance

Proton has announced the availability of the Proton Chancellor beginning 15th December 2005. It will debut during the ASEAN Summit from 12-14 December. What is the Proton Chancellor? It’s basically a Proton Waja chassis with a 2.0 V6 engine from the Mitsubishi Eterna/Proton Perdana.

Proton officials say that the Chancellor had been redeveloped and not merely a stretched model like the Proton Perdana Executive. It has a 2850mm long wheelbase, compared to the Waja wheelbase which is 2600mm.

The Proton Chancellor is expected to be sold at a higher price than the current Proton Perdana and will feature luxurious trim such as DVD players. The Chancellor’s target market are high-ranking Government officers, corporate heads and senior executives.

Robert Bosch is in talks with Proton Holdings Bhd on supplying diesel fuel injection systems. Bosch currently supplies Proton with engine mnagement system parts, brakes, brake calipers, ABS systems, actuation systems, wiper washer systems and fuel injection systems. The companies are exploring options to use Bosch’s diesel fuel injection systems if Proton develops diesel-powered vehicles.

A diesel Proton Arena soon? Or a diesel SRM for the diesel+hatch loving European market. Proton used to have 2.0 liter diesel Proton Wiras, and the gearbox used for that car has been sought after by car modders for it’s supposed strength

Source

The A1 Grand Prix PROTON Pro Celebrity Race went on without a hitch on the last day of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations. We saw an exciting battle between 11 cars driven by local and international celebrities. There was supposed to be 12 cars, but the man behind A1 Sheikh Maktoum had to pull out due to important business obligations.

Click here to read the rest of A1GP PROTON Pro Celebrity Race Results

Looks like the government’s National Automotive Policy bag of carrots is effective. Renault has chosen Malaysia for it’s ASEAN manufacturing hub, instead of Thailand. Renault’s Asia-Pacific vice president Patrick Debrot attributed the decision to Malaysia’s suitability to Renault’s stable of vehicles. Thailand is mostly a pick-up truck market, while Malaysia is more of a passanger vehicle market. Renault’s target market in Thailand would be up to a maximum of 50% of the total automotive market segment, while in Malaysia the target is about 75% of the total market.

Renault is already assembling CKD versions of the Renault Kangoo here in Malaysia. The CKD Kangoo is assembled locally by Tan Chong Motor Assemblers in Segambut, and distributed by TC Euro Cars Sdn Bhd, a division of Tan Chong. A new plant will be built and be ready by 2007 outside Rawang, Selangor. By then, Renault will be ready to export Malaysian-assembled Renaults to the ASEAN region.

Debrot said the new National Automotive Policy was a positive step forward to an open market, and understands the government’s needs to protect Proton.

The qualifying session of the A1GP PROTON Pro Celebrity Race was completed without a hitch today. All 12 cars have qualified, and times were consistently faster compared to the practice session yesterday.

Click here to read the rest of A1GP PROTON Pro Celebrity Race Qualifiers

Due to a restructuring exercise, Malaysia Airport Holdings, the current owner of the Sepang F1 circuit is trying to sell off the circuit. The Ministry of Finance agreed in 2003 to buy the circuit for USD 103.6 million (RM 391 million) but apparently the sale is being held up by Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management.

Apparently there are some legalities with a country owning a circuit being used in the Formula One series, as Malaysia as a sovereign country cannot be taken to court in case anything happens. A solution is still being worked out.

Source

An audit has revealed there may be traces of bribery between Proton and the media when it comes to reviewing Proton cars.

Apparently Proton had been very generous with the time spans it allows a journalist to keep the review car, and had handed out more than 70 cars so far – with 30 allocated to the media.

There has been cases where NSTP motoring journalists have been assigned Gen.2 and Savvy cars and were told to keep it for an unlimited period. They were told to report back on any problems over long-term use. To me, this sounds like a plausible reason. I frankly do not know what the fuss is about.

The normal review period for a car is usually between 3 days to a week. The Gen2 was returned after 8 months, and the Savvy after 2 months.

Investigations are still underway.

Source

Yet more updates on the Volkswagen-Proton parnership. The Malay Mail reports Volkswagen AG may buy 40% of Proton’s manufacturing arm, and assume management control over that unit. Proton’s board of directors had met up with Volkswagen officials last week to discuss this offer.

This deal will allow Proton to benefit from Volkswagen’s technical expertise. However Proton joint Chief Operating Officer Datuk Kisai Rahmat denied to comment on the results of the discussion.

Source

The Edge reports HLG Research expects non-national cars to make up 50% of car sales on the overall by 2007, and 47% by next year.

HLG expects industry volume for both passenger and commercial vehicles to reach 562,380 units in 2007.

HLG recommends UMW shares for investment in the auto industry, with a price target of RM6.89. Reasons given include NAP incentives and Perodua’s involvement in assembling Toyota vehicles.

As for Proton, HLG maintains it’s buy status, in view of a potential alliance with Volkswagen AG which will improve economies of scale and efficiency through technology transfer, as well as better sentiments that the Volkswagen brand will give.

HLG has a hold status on Tan Chong shares, due to sales for the successful Frontier and X-Trail models that might be affected if prices go up because of 4WD and MPV segment tax hikes. Passanger cars should be safe so far, as the margins would be able to absorb the tax hikes.