Here are the latest spy images for the Proton Satria Replacement Model or Proton SRM24 which have been in testing phases for quite some time already. These photos were taken while the Proton SRM was parked in a parking lot, with it’s driver nowhere to be found. Because of that the photographer managed to get shots of the interior. Spyshots are after the jump!
Click here to read the rest of Satria Replacement Model Spyshots with Interior
A team of Proton engineers met with Mitsubishi officials at Mitsubishi Australia’s Adelaide assembly plant last week to discuss the possible import of the Mitsubishi 380 large sedan into Malaysia. This followed the shipment of a single Mitsubishi 380 here last month for climate and government regulation approval testing.
The Mitsubishi 380 is a large sedan based on the North American Mitsubishi Galant and is powered by a 3.8 liter SOHC V6 engine making 235 horsepower at 5250rpm and 343Nm of torque at 4000rpm. Malaysia and other Asia Pacific countries as an export market could relieve the pressure that Mitsubishi Australia is facing as sales on their home grounds for the car isn’t very encouraging.
More details on the Mitsubishi 380 in my previous post.
The world’s 2nd largest automotive supplier* with sales of more than RM103.36 billion Delphi Corp has offered help to Proton in terms of widening it’s vehicle base and pushing for export markets.
The Michigan-based company supplies automotive parts to companies like Porsche, Mercedes Benz, GM, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Audi and Volkswagen. It employs 185,000 employees worldwide and has 164 manufacturing sites, 41 joint ventures, 53 customer centres cum sales offices and 33 technical centers in 38 countries. It has a plant here in Kuala Terengganu manufacturing wire harnesses for Proton.
Delphi Packard Electric Asia Pacific managing director Majdi Abulaban said Delphi is keen on being Proton’s strategic team mate, sharing it’s global know-how in designing and manufacturing quality components for the automotive industry. It is hoped that working together would result in better economies of scale which translates into lower costs and better quality cars for Proton.
BTW the last I heard of Delphi, it was bankrupt.
* - According to Automotive News list of Top 100 global suppliers.
Perodua will begin exporting it’s successful Perodua Myvi compact car to Britain from July onwards if everything goes well. The Perodua Myvi has already passed British quality checks and once it’s backlog of 45,000 pending orders have been cleared by July, it will start exporting the car.
Naza Kia Academy Sdn Bhd and Kia Motors Corp signed a memorandum of understanding last Friday to make Naza’s RM 21 million academy one of Kia’s overseas training centres. The Naza Kia Academy will serve as Kia’s Asia Pacific training center.
The Naza Kia Academy is part of the Naza Automotive Complex in Gurun Kedah, of which total investment is worth RM500 million so far. It also hired 1,100 people. Another RM150 million expansion is planned for plant expansion in order to achieve a 4,000 units a month production target.
For more details on the facilities the Naza KIA Academy Overseas Training Center offers, read my previous post here.
Naza also plans sales of 50,000 units this year. It’s sales for 2005 was 32,544 units, up from 21,323 units in 2004. Naza currently produces the Naza Ria, Naza Citra, Naza Sorento, Kia Spectra and Kia Pregio here in Malaysia. The Kia Pregio is also built for export, as KIA uses Naza Automotive Manufacturing as the global production centre for the van. Basically certain people’s allegations that Naza is a rebadge outfit generating no incoming funds for the country is not entirely true, as Naza is bringing in foreign funds through the export of the Kia Pregio.
A statement has been given by Proton Berhad regarding the completion of the sale of it’s stake in MV Agusta SpA to Gevi SpA on 1st March 2006. As of 1st March 2006, Proton has dumped it’s entire 57.75 stake in the Italian motorcycle company.
Gevi SpA will assume MV Agusta’s restructured frozen debts of 106.9 million euros (473.7 million ringgit) and shoulder working capital requirments of 32.5 million euros (144 million ringgit).
Proton MD Syed Zainal Abidin Syed said, “There was no doubt that by continuing to have MV Agusta in Proton’s stable would definitely have put Proton at great risk should the company fall into bankruptcy. The disposal therefore would minimise the risk of this exposure to the company.”
Perodua aims to increase it’s automotive market share to 27 percent from the 25.3 percent it achieved in 2005. The latest Perodua Myvi waiting list statistics - 90,000 bookings so far, 45,000 delivered and 45,000 still on the waiting list, with 4000-5000 bookings piling up every month.
Perodua aims to produce 70,000 Myvis this year, with faster production of 7000 a month from now until July in hopes to clear off the backlog of frustrated customers who booked their Perodua Myvi and are still waiting for delivery. Many view smaller engines like the ones in Perodua cars as a way to save on fuel, especially for those who have no choice and cannot resort to motorcycles and scooters. While this is not always true, it is the public’s general perception.
BTW, I heard MAS needs RM4 billion to stay afloat. It will raise RM2 billion by itself and ask the government for the other RM2 billion. What good timing for the government to save RM4.4 billion in fuel subsidies. (Source: AP) Another good read is “Petrol price hikes: Time to invest heavily in public transport” by Aliran.
P.S.: You know who you are - go book your Myvi now!
Click here to read the rest of Proton Updates: Q3 ProfitableProton Holdings Bhd reported a net profit of RM86.51 million in Q3 which ended on December 31 2005, thanks to higher car sales and lower debt provisions. This is good, compared to the RM154.33 loss in Q2, but still 38.61% lower than the RM140.92 million profit in Q3 of the previous year.
It’s been a good year indeed for UMW Holdings Bhd. Have you seen the Toyota Avanza advertisement with the little boy fully decked out in beach gear but standing sadly outside the house because the family car had no space for him and they left without him? Cars like the Toyota Avanza and the Perodua Myvi which manages to address market needs as well as they did are sure to sell like hot cakes.
Higher sales of Toyota and Perodua vehicles among other industries have helped boost UMW Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the year ended Dec 31 2005 up 67% to RM276 million. Toyota and Perodua vehicle sales went up 36.4% in 2005 to 236,341 units compared to the 173,286 units sold in 2004.
The Naza KIA Academy in Gurun, Kedah is a 20 million ringgit joint-venture investment by Naza KIA Sdn Bhd and Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd. The Naza KIA Academy has a basic technical training centre, management training facilities, an operation service centre and a showroom. It has a hostel with 45 twin-sharing air-conditioned rooms. It’s service centre has a 24-service base, allowing it to service 2,300 vehicles yearly. The academy currently has 15 students, comprising of Naza’s own staff and secondary school leavers and can take a maximum of 40 at a time.
Naza is currently positioning the Naza KIA Academy as a regional training centre for the Asia Pacific region, providing strategic support to KIA Motors Corporation. If plans go well, it will be the 5th overseas training centre for Kia Motors. The other four are in the US, Germany, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
Talks have already begun and a Memorandum of Understanding should be signed in early March 2006. It is hoped that with the Overseas Training Centre status, transfer of technology and expertise could be gained from Kia Motors.
It is hoped that in the long term the academy can hold twinning programmes with local universities. The academy is part of a RM90 million expansion plan which includes an R&D centre, logistics centre, test track and others.
Source: The Edge Daily, Business Times, StarBiz
