Proton chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh has confirmed that he is one of the bidders for Khazanah Nasional’s 42.7% stake in the national carmaker. Apart from this “management buyout” bid, other parties linked to the deal are DRB-Hicom and the Naza Group.

He revealed that Proton’s management took the matter to him few months ago after rumours of interest in Proton from various parties surfaced. They then asked him to make a bid for it because of his experience in setting up Proton and leading the group in the past.

Nadzmi believes that privatisation is the way to go for Proton, which would enable him to restructure the whole group to turn it around. “I know the business well, and Proton is close to my heart. There is a potential in Proton and that is why I dare to make a bid, and the offer runs into billions,” he told StarBiz.

He however did not reveal the offer that he had submitted, saying that an offer for the net tangible asset price of Proton will be too high as Proton is not an easy project. The man added that he is already in talks with some foreign banks regarding financing.

He has firm plans to recoup back his investment, should he succeed. “It is all about how you juggle your assets. This could be done by increasing the utilisation rate of Proton’s assets, cost reduction and also increasing Proton’s exports. These steps could easily add a further RM500mil to RM600mil to Proton’s bottom line.

“Besides the increased utilisation of the Tanjung Malim plant, Proton needs to transform itself to be a global player, and I believe the upcoming model codenamed P3-21A will be the global car that will transform Proton’s DNA. The car will be a completely different car with better material and design coupled with modern features. One thing is for sure, Proton’s DNA will shift to a higher gear with the plans in place,” he said.

Speaking of Tanjung Malim, which is utilised at an average of 52% now, “Proton can raise its utilisation rate by having tie-ups with other brands to assemble or manufacture their products,” Nadzmi opines, while confirming reports that General Motors (GM) is interested in the plant.

Tie-ups with foreign parties is key, citing examples like Proton’s recent deals with long time partner Mitsubishi and Chinese company Hawtai, but Nadzmi does not believe that Proton needs a global OEM to turn the company around. “I hope to do a lot more tie-ups with other brands, as Malaysia today has a lot of capacity, with more collaborations and on a multi-franchise business model, it would be easier to control the local automotive industry.

“Contrary to what some might say, that Proton needs a global OEM to turn the company around, Proton is essentially a brand with Asian roots. How would it fit into the portfolio of a global OEM with its collaborations with MMC and other joint ventures? It would clash with the interest of Proton whereby OEMs like MMC would not be willing to collaborate further as they would run the risk of exposing trade secrets to third parties in the form of another global OEM in the picture,” he explained.

How about the cash hungry subsidiary Group Lotus? “If I buy Proton, I will cut it off, and probably retain a 20 to 30% stake, which translates to a lot of savings every year. There is a lot of potential buyers for Lotus, and once a deal is signed it will be written back to the books of Proton,” he said.

Proton has announced an extension of the end date of its free rear centre lap belt installation service from 31 December 2011 to 31 January 2012. This is due to poor response so far – only about 17% out of the 225,930 affected Proton vehicles have been installed with the rear lap belt, to date.

Since the Government first announced in June 2008 to make it compulsory for vehicles to be fitted with the lap belt, Proton has been installing it at no cost to owners of the Saga LMST and Gen.2 models manufactured between 2004 and 2008.

In September this year, Proton embarked on an outreach programme consisting of roadshows and on-ground activities across the country to create awareness on this matter. This included setting up hospitality and safety marquees at highway R&Rs in Dengkil, Ayer Keroh, Gunung Semanggol and Temerloh, and pamphlet distribution at selected tolls.

Stepping up efforts, Proton Mobile Teams (eight teams of four technical personnel) were also dispatched beginning early this month to used car outlets and locations such as mosques, hypermarkets and petrol stations.

“We would like to urge our customers with the affected cars, and Malaysians in general, to not only comply with the new ruling to avoid getting fined by the authorities, but to adopt the practice of using seat belts for rear occupants in the name of safety. We also urge parents to take up the habit of ensuring that their children who are seated at the back are properly belted up,” said Proton Group MD Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal Abidin.

With this extension, Saga LMST and Gen.2 owners who have yet to fix their rear centre lap belts can make an appointment at authorised Proton Service Centres to have it done. Installation will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes per car.

Proton has announced a nationwide ‘Proton I-Care Prihatin Banjir’ flood relief programme to assist victims whose Proton cars have been damaged by rising waters. The programme starts today (29 Dec) and will run till 29 February 2012.

Basically, Proton I-Care Prihatin Banjir offers affected Proton car owners free inspection and assessment of damage, free towing within a 5km radius of selected Proton authorised service centres and a 20% discount on Proton Genuine Parts.

“We understand how difficult it can be for people who are affected in flood-prone areas. Year after year they face the same problems and damages to their property and belongings, which may include their Proton cars. For most families, it can be one of the biggest spending of their household,” said Ahmad Suhaimi Mohamad Anuar, CEO of Proton Edar.

“Previously, flood was a common occurrence in the East Coast but nowadays it happens all over the country, even in KL, when you least expect it. With this programme and customer care being our top priority, we hope to do our part in helping to relieve the burden of our valued customers,” he added.

This is part of Proton’s community outreach programme, which will see roadshows in Kelantan, Perlis, Pahang and Johor. The tour started last week in Kelantan and Perlis. Upcoming dates and venues are as follows:

At the road shows, Proton technicians will share with owners how to handle flood-affected vehicles. Proton owners are also entitled to a free 18-point safety check and free rear seat belt installation. The latter is the last chance to do so before the regulation is enforced by the government beginning 1 January 2012.

Customers are also invited to forward queries regarding flood affected cars or show up in person at any Proton service centre for guidance. For towing services and related enquiries, one can call Proton I-Care at 1300-880–888 or 1800–888–398.

Future roadshow venues and dates will be announced in due course.

The next recipient of Proton’s “Very Important Proton” Makeover programme is a 1996 Iswara Aeroback, owned by software test engineer Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri. The 35-year-old from Muar, Johor received a year-end surprise when the company called him to announce that his car was to be the third makeover project vehicle.

“In his submission, Norzamzarini waxed lyrical about his love for his car. Its uniqueness really stood out,” said Proton’s director of group marketing, branding and motorsports, John D. Chacko. “We were quite taken by his expressiveness, ending his submission with what would best be described as him loving the car ‘till death do they part!’”

The red Proton Iswara Aeroback 1.3 that will receive special treatment from Proton’s R3 unit was a second-hand purchase by Norzamzarini in 1998. A keen Formula One follower and an avid Schumacher fan, he described a proud moment when he brought his then-girlfriend to meet his parents. That poignant moment, as he described it, was akin to that of him being a prince astride his red stallion with his prized maiden.

“I am feeling really blessed, having been informed that the car I love will be getting a new lease of life,” said the father of four. “Coincidentally, just last week, my wife and I were blessed with our fourth child, a lovely baby girl who we named Nur Mawaddah, which means ‘a ray of love’. Having the two events happening so close to each other, I cannot help but feel that I have received a double blessing,” he enthused.

Though excited, Norzamzarini was feeling a little hesitant when handing over the car to the R3 unit at the Proton Center of Excellence in Subang Jaya. Later expressing some slight embarrassment because of the wear and tear of the car’s body work, he was set at ease after receiving a compliment about the pristine condition of the car’s engine.

Proton’s head of engineering of the R3 unit, Tengku Djan Ley, expressed the team’s anticipation of working on yet another different vehicle. “After reading Norzamzarini’s submission, and meeting him in person and hearing of him and his family and their new daughter, we are really looking forward to working on this car and giving them a gift for the new year,” he added. The Iswara Aeroback is scheduled to be returned in January 2012.

Norzamzarini’s selection announcement comes off the back of the handing over of the second completed Makeover car, a 17-year-old Wira belonging to Sashideran Radha Krishnan from Klang. Fadly Hisham Roplay’s 1992 Saga was of course the first to be reworked. Three more Proton car owners will be rewarded with a complete makeover of their car, courtesy of the My Proton Makeover contest, which ends today.

Click to enlarge spec sheet

Here’s an update. Remember when we posted up scans of the Proton Exora Bold brochure shortly before Proton made an official announcement? We now have a hard copy of the finalised brochure with us, and it appears to have slightly different figures from the scans. We will take you through the changes.

The scans had a code at the bottom of the page “091211REV0″ and the new one has the code “161211REV3″. The numbers look like the date of approval or print (9-12-2011, as opposed to 16-12-2011), so it’s clear that the one we have now is the newer version. The “REV” could be for revision, and three comes after zero, falling nicely into the scenario.

So where is the difference? The ones that really jump out at first glance are the 0-100 km/h acceleration figures. In the old scan, the Premium CVT (Campro CFE) does 0-100 in 13.3 seconds, the Executive AT (Campro CPS) does it in 15.7 seconds and the manual variants stop the clock at 13.1 sec.

In the new brochure, as you can see here, the turbocharged Bold is timed at 11.3 seconds, two full seconds faster. The CPS + 4AT variant does 15.5 sec and the CPS + 5MT does 12.9 sec. All times are faster, and 11.3 sec for the 1,486 kg CFE sounds more encouraging.

Other changes include the deletion of the Bore X Stroke row across the board (76 X 86 for CFE) and the correct compression ratio for the CFE, which is 8.9:1, not 10.0:1 as per the CPS. Fuel tank capacity has been revised from 60 litres to 55 litres. Top speed and “Fuel Consumption @ 90 km/h” data remain intact.

We have driven the Exora Bold, so expect the test drive report very soon!