Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
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The Naza Suria is now available in 6 colours (Galaxy Black, Orange, Scarlet Red, Liquid Silver, Samba Green & Cobalt Blue), each with matching “Edisi Grafix” body stickers. Above is the Scarlet Red version.
UPDATE: These stickers are at no extra cost and is valid 31st December 2007. If you prefer a normal Suria without the stickers, it’s also available.
Have a look at the rest of the new colours and body stickers after the jump.
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Proton is now back to black again in terms of quarterly profit after six continuous quarterly losses, posting a net profit of RM3.5 million on revenue of RM1.3 billion, compared to a loss of RM250 million on a turnover of RM1.27 billion the same period last year.
However, Proton chairman Datuk Mohamed Azlan Hashim says Proton still needs to work harder as this was just a small profit and only a quarterly figure. As most of you can guess, a major factor contributing to this bounce back is the Proton Persona, with 23,000 bookings so far. Market share rose from 26.5% to 33.1% from the previous quarter.
In other Proton-related news, while there was previously a report quoting an unnamed government sources that Proton would not get a local partner as it would be much like handing it over to another middleman who would have to look for a foreign major player anyway, now it seems that there is still a possibility of a local partner being considered, if it is good for Proton.
At the same time, General Motors has said that it has not ruled out interest in an alliance with Proton. “Never say never. But in the meantime, things have moved on,” said Steve Carlisle, head of GM SEA. On the local front, DRB-HICOM comes out and says it does not mind collaborating with Proton even without having a share in the company.
Could we see Proton working with GM sometime in the future through DRB-HICOM, since DRB-HICOM has a stake-sharing relationship with GM’s Chevrolet unit through Hicom-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd?
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[ UPDATE: The facelifted Proton GEN2 with a new range of Campro IAFM and Campro CPS engines has been launched in Malaysia! Click for more details. ]
The new facelifted Proton GEN2 has been launched in Thailand together with the Proton brand’s introduction into the Thai market. We’ve been seeing the new facelifted Proton GEN2 going around town on road tests before, so the new larger grille is not something that new to those who have seen the spyshots.
It also marks the first production Proton with the long awaited Campro CPS engine installed in the engine bay. In the Thailand market, this is for the High Line model only and as far as I can find out, it produces 125 horsepower at 6,500rpm and 150Nm of torque at 4,500rpm as compared to the normal Campro’s 110 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 148Nm of torque at 4,000rpm. It’s not known at the moment what the new engine’s torque curve looks like, or whether this new Campro CPS in the facelifted GEN2 has the Variable Intake Module or not, since it was previously mentioned by the VIM manufacturer EPMB just two weeks ago that the VIM module would most likely only go into production early next year.
In the interior, the High Line model gets leather seats. If you look at the photos after the jump you will see that the new facelifted GEN2 has received an interior update much similiar to the Proton Persona‘s. The dash now has a glove compartment, the clock in the middle of the dash is now gone, and the door panels have been replaced with a much better design which integrates power window switches. I wonder if current GEN2 owners can change their door panels to these new ones as it is a huge improvement in terms of usability and design.
It’s not known at the moment when the Proton GEN2 facelift with Campro CPS engine will be introduced into Malaysia, so we will have to wait patiently at the moment. I am very eager to find out the detailed statistics on the new Campro CPS engine. Prices start from B549,000 for the GEN2.
More photos of the new facelifted GEN2 with CPS after the jump.
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Dr Syed Ali Tawfik al-Attas, director-general of Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia feels insulted because the whole Islamic car plan.
I quote him, “A car is not the right place for the Quran, neither is a cars rear windshield the right place to display verses from the Quran.”
Read the column titled “Just what is an Islamic car?” to find out more.
Related Posts:
Proton to develop Islamic cars
While reading the NST sometime last week, I spotted this column by Rehman Rashid, on the breakdown of the Proton and Volkswagen talks. It was a very pro-Proton column, but there was this one paragraph…
And then there’s India, home of Mahindra, Maruti, Bajaj and the Ambassador – and a 300 million-strong middle class with fewer than 15 cars per 1,000 people and 10,000km of new toll roads being built. It’s easy to imagine rebadged Perdanas, Gen.2s and Personas in New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. Volkswagen or GM can’t build a car for under RM20,000 to match any of them.
Sadly, neither can Proton… not in it’s current state and not for a long time. And neither can many Indian manufacturers! While it’s true that Volkswagen and GM are having troubles building a cheap car at those kind of prices (perhaps why Volkswagen was interested in any kind of tie-up with us at all to begin with, some say Volkswagen wanted the upcoming New Proton Saga to be its new cheapest car positioned under the Volkswagen Fox), I don’t think the Perdana, the GEN2 and the Persona can be produced and sold in India for under RM20,000 either. One only needs to look at the prices of those cars in our local market to know.
So let’s jump back to reality abit shall we? Everyone who cares about the automotive industry, or has a responsibility to say something about the national concern of the week has commented on the Proton-Volkswagen talks, and all of them – including the big man Syed Zainal himself – have been saying China and India are integral parts of Proton’s turn-around plans.
Proton has already made some in-roads in the Chinese market – a rebadging deal with Jinhua Youngman. An interview with Syed Zainal in StarBiz reveals how that deal came about – Jinhua Youngman (a Chinese coach and truck maker) originally went to Lotus and asked them to design a car for them. It was suggested that Jinhua do a badge engineering deal with Proton instead, since the cars were already there. It seems Jinhua Youngman has already managed 1,500 bookings before the car is launched.
But India is a market in which Proton does not have a presence in yet. Is India a perfect match for Proton and the models it has? Rather than just imagine… let’s take an analytical look at the situation in the Indian market.
INDIA: Current Industry Sales Figures and Growth Potential
India has only 12 motor vehicles per 1000 persons, whereas China has 10 and Malaysia has a staggering 641! That makes us the 3rd most saturated country in the world behind the United States (765) and Luxembourg (686). In comparison, Japan has 543 and the United Kingdom has 426. [1]
Admittedly, the term “motor vehicles” also include two wheelers and not just passenger cars, but this is also the case for India. For Financial Year 06-07, 77% of India’s total industry volume comprised of two-wheelers. The remaining comprised of 1,076,408 passenger cars (14%), 220,199 utility vehicles and 83,091 MPVs. This is a huge amount of vehicles, and the 14% figure only stands to grow as many Indians slowly graduate from two wheelers to cars.
The potential is huge considering as India’s GDP goes up, the market for motor vehicles will increase tremendously. According to Global Economics Paper No. 99 by Goldman Sachs [4], China’s GDP would be exceeded Germany by this year, and Japan by 2015 while India would do the same by 2020 and 2030 respectively. Emerging markets that are considered “old news” in the automotive industry include Brazil, Russia and China. These markets are expected to decline in growth from 2015 onwards, while India is expected to continue showing stable growth. [Source]
INDIA: Penetration Potential and Government Policies
The Indian automotive industry is seen to be “friendlier” as compared to the China. According to a Japanese analyst source, many Japanese vendors are now looking for an “India Plan”. More and more are turning away from China because of cases like the much publicized GM vs SAIC legal case over the Chery QQ, allegedly a clone of the Chevrolet Spark.
The Indian government also has initiatives like the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), and has committed RM 274 billion to the NHDP under the 11th Five-Year Plan. Malaysian companies like UEM and IJM are already in India, working on these highways, roads and flyovers. A clear sign that India is serious about improving its country’s transportation.
Of course, the highways are no use without motor vehicles, and for that India has a clear “Automotive Mission Plan” that covers the years 2006 to 2016. This plan was prepared by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises of the Government of India and outlines automotive industry investments of up to US$40 billion (RM 135 bilion) over the 10 years. The plan also focuses on exprts, with a 25-point plan. While obviously requiring more consistency and notice period before changes are made (manufacturers are asking for a minimum of 2 years before and major alterations are made), the plan gives investors a lot of confidence. There will not likely be any sudden random changes in policies, something that are unfortunately getting familiar with.
From a Malaysian perspective, the legal system could possibly be easier to understand as Malaysia and India were both former British colonies and are still Commonwealth members. Communication would also be easier, in English if the Malaysian/Indian accents dont distort discussions and negotiations. Lastly, as is Japan, Australia and New Zealand, India is a right-hand-drive country whereas China is LHD. This means less re-engineering cost for the new market.
INDIA: The Big Players
Sales Matrix – Indian Passenger Cars for August 2007
| No | Model | Sales | Delhi Price (lakh) | Length |
| 1 | Suzuki Alto | 17,816 | 2.59~3.13 | 3495 |
| 2 | Suzuki Wagon R | 11,748 | 3.56~4.04 | 3520 |
| 3 | Hyundai Santro | 11,699 | 2.94~4.59 | 3565 |
| 4 | Tata Indica | 11,396 | 2.75~4.58 | 3675 |
| 5 | Suzuki Omni | 7,793 | 2.45~2.47 | 3370 |
| 6 | Suzuki Swift | 7,576 | 4.36~5.56 | 3695 |
| 7 | Suzuki M800 | 5,480 | 2.16~2.38 | 3335 |
| 8 | Suzuki Zen Estilo | 4,596 | 3.52~4.07 | 3495 |
| 9 | Toyota Innova | 3,910 | 8.16~11.35 | 4555 |
| 10 | Mahindra Scorpio | 3,418 | 8.07~9.54 | 4325 |
Source: Autocar India, October 2007
Above are the sales charts for the Indian passenger car market in August 2007 alone. As you can see, Maruti Suzuki India dominates the Indian market with their Suzuki-badged cars, and the Maruti-Suzuki M800 is just about the only car that is priced under RM20,000 (Rs 2.16 lakh is about RM18,500). Yet it is not the top selling model, which shows that the Indian market is maturing – the 1983 Suzuki M800 is OLD and no one wants to be stuck with a stone age car. They want something fairly modern, and stylish even, but being economical in terms of both fuel consumption and initial purchase cost plays a huge factor.
What Is The Ideal Indian Car?
Like I said, fuel economy and initial purchase cost are huge factors for the current Indian car buyer. Petrol in India costs 49.49 rupees (RM4.07) per litre, and diesel costs 32.45 rupees (RM2.78) per litre. As evident from the top 10 sales list, except for number 9 and 10 which is an MPV and a 4X4 respectively, India needs small cars. It would also be ideal if the car had a diesel powertrain, especially if you want to introduce a larger sedan-bodied model. A diesel variant is a must have if Proton were to enter the Indian market, and from what I hear there are certain Proton prototypes with third party-sourced turbodiesel units already. Manual transmission is a must as Indian motorists seem to want to save every single drop of fuel they can.
The Best Way To Enter India
The obvious way is to tie-up with a company that already has a nationwide sales and service network in India, and a gap in the company’s product line-up which allows Proton models to be slotted in. This will provide Proton a quick entry into India.
Maruti Suzuki is out as they have their own brand to run. Tata may be a good choice, but their mainstay is commercial vehicles, although their Tata 1-lakh car and 2008 Indicar/Indigo plans are interesting, as is their relationship with Fiat. Backtracking to the bit about car prices, 1-lakh rupees is about RM8,563.00, but now it seems the car might end up being 1.25 lakh instead (RM10,700). Both Hyundai and Suzuki are also working on similiar projects. Anyway, Tata has 11 variants of the Tata Indica alone, not including the Indigo, so there is definitely no room for Proton in the Tata stable.
Mahindra looks to be a perfect choice. Yes, they have a relationship with Renault to sell the Renault Logan in India, but many who’ve seen the vehicle says it feels too cheap and is put together too cheaply – this is not really in tune with maturing Indian customer tastes. The Logan’s launch in India also did not go as well as expected – not enough ready stock at launch, too high of a booking deposit, slow production, expensive diesel option, and limited variants. [Source]
Business Times reported back in April 2006 that Proton was in talks with Mahindra. In more recent news, Syed Zainal reveals in the StarBiz centerspread interview that Proton is now talking with a company that is currently in the tractors and 4X4 segment but wants to get into passenger cars. I strongly believe this could be Mahindra. Syed Zainal says the deal will be similiar to the Jinhua/Europestar deal – this could mean rebadging instead of the Proton brand being introduced there.
Where Will The Cars Come From?
CKD assembly in India is the best way to go about it because of tax/duty concerns, and the Indian partner would have a manufacturing, logistics, vendor network and system already in place. A combination of various duties – Excise, Customs, and VAT – could hike up the price of a CBU car imported into India by 60% to 100%, but for CKD pack imports it is generally about 10% only. [Source] But it’s worthwhile to note that India is currently on observer status in ASEAN [Source] – there could be a possibility of India moving to establish Free Trade Agreements with key ASEAN countries in the next few years – it already has an FTA with Thailand.
India has had an installed manufacturing capacity of 1.75 million cars annually since the year 2005, but the Total Industry Volume has not reached that amount yet, so there is plenty of capacity to locally assemble Proton cars there.
The Perfect Proton for India
Syed Zainal mentions in the StarBiz interview that Proton will be offering the BLM, the GEN.2 and the Savvy to the Indian partner. He says with the right product offerings, a car company in the Indian market could snag an estimated combined sales volume of about 200,000 units a year for 2 to 3 cars, which should be possible if one of cars gets onto the top 10 list (refer August 2007 sales table above).
India divides passenger cars into different segments, from A1 to A6. There are four Lower A2 segment cars on the top 10 list – the Suzuki Zen Estilo, the Suzuki Alto, the Suzuki Wagon R and the Hyundai Santro. India defines a Lower A2 segment car as a car between 3490mm and 3650mm in length. Then there is the Upper A2 segment which measures between 3650mm to 4000mm long – represented on the top 10 list by the Tata Indica and the Suzuki Swift. Longer than the Upper A2 segment is the Lower A3 segment, which measures between 4000mm to 4200mm and includes cars like the Ford Ikon and the Tata Indigo, but none of them are on the top 10 best seller list.
By just looking at the types of cars that are on the list, you know you need an excellent Lower A2 or Upper A2 segment contender. Proton has two cars that could fit into what India considers an A2 segment car – the Proton Savvy (3710mm) and the upcoming Proton BLM, which could fall in either the Upper A2 or Lower A3 segments.
If the BLM follows the Persona’s foot steps, it will end up being a rather decent car. I believe if the kinks are ironed out of the Campro’s strange torque curve (through the variable intake module perhaps?), the BLM and a Campro-equipped Savvy could be better cars than cars like the Hyundai Santro (we know this car as the Atos here in Malaysia). Proton has cars with modern styling and up to date interiors. What we don’t have right now is a diesel – one of the lasts bit of the ideal recipe.
Small hatchbacks in India are preferred and retain value better compared to three-box sedan cars. One reason could be because sedans in India are more expensive compared to hatchbacks on initial cost – the opposite of what’s happening in Malaysia and around the world where hatchbacks are seen as a sporty lifestyle choice and command a higher price – just look at the Honda City vs the Honda Jazz here in Malaysia. The other factor is the fact that a smaller hatchback is simply preferred in the very busy streets of Indian towns. A hatch simply takes up less street real estate and parking space.
But this doesn’t mean a small sedan will not work in India. For a case study, we can have a look at the Suzuki Esteem 1.3L, which is about 4095mm x 1575mm x 1395mm in dimension. According to the little guesswork I did which I demonstrated below, the Proton BLM should be nearly equal to the Suzuki Esteem in length – an estimated 3975mm to 4050mm length – (to make up for the angle in the photo) so it could either be an Upper A2 car or a Lower A3 car.
You can try doing your own guess-timation calculation on how long the BLM is – the pixel values above will not tally if you measure the image because I did it with a larger image then resized it down to fit this site. Plus the image is actually taken at an angle so it would not be accurate. I assumed the BLM would use the Savvy’s platform and not an extended one, so the same wheelbase would apply.
It could be that the Suzuki Esteem is not doing that well in India because it appears to be an old workhorse, and is not so palatable compared to the newer Wagon R, Zen Estilo and other “newer” models. The BLM will offer a “fresher” Lower A3 sedan choice.
So to answer the question – what is the perfect Proton for India? In this case, the answer would be the Savvy and the BLM, and priority should be to get the cars locally assembled in India as fast as possible.
But the danger with this could be having the Proton or Proton-badged marque be associated with cheap cars forever – a problem that Maruti Suzuki is facing right now. Competitors like Honda and Toyota took a different approach – enter with the more expensive models to build the brand, then move downmarket with cheaper offerings.
Price point is also something to ponder about – assuming the BLM is RM32,000 here in Malaysia, that would translate to about 3.7 lakh rupees. Seems pricey considering most of the models on the top 10 list start from under 3.0 lakh rupees. But then again as I’ve mentioned before it is normal for sedans to have a premium over hatches in India.
Last but not least, with the possibility of India-ASEAN FTA’s being put into place in the not-too-distant future, it would be very good if Proton develops vendors for specific items in India, to cater to regional or global (if I could be so bold as to use that word) Proton production. It would meet the spirit of the CEPT where countries agree to lower import duties while exchanging a roughly equal value volume of components. An added bonus, to take a page from what the Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda are doing, is to use these ‘roots’ in each country to show evidence to the government that the manufacturer is not just there to make a quick buck but has developed local vendors and is serious in creating export opportunities for the host country and/or state.
A wishlist for India-bound Protons: models must have retractable electric wing mirrors because of the danger of two wheelers accidentally clipping the wing mirrors off. The wing mirror mount should also allow for the mirror to detach easily when forced to break without damaging the car body. Ideally the car body could employ a similiar material to the Nissan X-Trail’s fenders which are dent-proof when it comes to little bumps and knocks. This material could be used in key body parts like fenders, like on the X-Trail. Again, something to cope with the huge amount of two-wheelers there. That way Proton (or Mahindra perhaps, if a rebadging deal is done) can claim the new car is designed for Indian roads. 
And of course most importantly, a diesel engine.
SOURCES:
[1]: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_mot_veh-transportation-motor-vehicles
[2]: http://www.cybersteering.com
[3]: http://www.siamindia.com/scripts/custom-duty.aspx
[4]: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/insight/research/reports/report6.html
[5] http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20060706/13939.htm / Wikipedia: NHDP
[6]: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5049398.stm
A recent lucrative export deal to China involving the Proton GEN2 has been cited as one of the ways to spearhead Proton’s recovery, as most of you would know by now. Proton was to export 30,000 completely built up Proton GEN2 cars to China for Jinhua Youngman to rebadge under the Europestar brand, with a further possible 80,000 units to be assembled in China.
Thanks to spyshots by Chinese automotive industry website Cheshi, we now find out that the “localisation” of the Proton GEN2 by Jinhua was not just limited to a left hand drive conversion and swapping badges with the Europestar badge. The Europestar GEN2 gets a completely new front fascia that looks like the poor car has jaundice, and the rear crop circle lamps get a similiar treatment.
UPDATE: Some of you may remember the spyshots of the facelifted Proton GEN2 due to be launched very soon. It too had a larger grille, although not as over the top as the Europestar version.
More images including rear light treatment are after the jump.
Proton Holdings Bhd shares are now at a 7-year all time low, closing at RM4.02 yesterday, but not after dipping to an intra-day low of RM3.98. This is a 18.6% drop. You can see the effects of this share drop in the local automotive forums, where some reveal their losses of thousands of ringgit on paper value.
Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop says there is no reason for investors to fret over the price decline as this is a normal market reaction. He also added that there is no specific timeframe for the management of Proton to turn around, but the government hopes the company will keep the momentum going with efforts to increase sales and quality.
I am sure there is a timeframe, otherwise it would not make any sense at all to throw away all that hard work in steering the Proton-Volkswagen negotiations towards a positive end result – something that has been going since 2004.
I’m sure many of you who have been following the whole Proton-Volkwagen strategic tie-up soap opera are wondering, “What’s with the rather unexpected end result?”.
After all, it was only slightly more than a week ago that two financial papers reported of an imminent positive end result within a matter of weeks. All of a sudden, this bombshell, and naturally people are starting to believe the whole show was in fact an act, or a game even, to manipulate Proton share prices for the benefit of those with insider information.
In reality, things were actually looking positive – although nothing was confirmed – until last Friday or so. Sources reveal a meeting was held – one of the few final ones before the whole deal was to have been given the solid green light — so all parties involved could look at the big picture.
But sometime before this meeting, Proton’s management had a meeting with the government to appeal against this strategic alliance plan. Proton presented a road map of current achievements and future goals.
Somehow they managed to convince the government not to go ahead with the agreement, and to give them a second chance to turn around Proton, which they believed was already on the verge of a turn-around because of recent achievements such as the Proton Persona and export deals with China and Iran. The China deal was especially sweet: 30,000 completely built up Proton GEN2s in a rebadging deal with 80,000 to be assembled there by 2012 – a deal worth RM4 billion.
Convincing the government was not that difficult a thing to do considering they were not completely happy with the terms that Volkswagen had put down on the table in the first place. The people on the street — including you and me — will never know what exactly was in these terms and conditions – all we know are little bits and pieces regarding the formation of a new company that is majority held and controlled by Volkswagen and have core Proton businesses injected into it.
The terms and conditions apparently were completely skewed towards Volkswagen’s benefit and we really cannot blame them as Proton in its current state really doesn’t have much to offer other than a plant in which to build Volkswagen cars in and a few car platforms. Its dealer network is not one of the best around — too many dealers and the salesmen do not actually know how to sell cars. It would also be interesting to find out why some engineering consultancy jobs are given to LG CNS instead of Lotus Engineering. [Source]
So it was decided that Proton could still hold on and fight for the moment and any strategic tie-up should only happen when Proton is in a stronger position to negotiate. In its current weak position, anything that happens with a foreign partner would be more of a foreign takeover rather than a mutually beneficial strategic tie-up. Proton has presented a roadmap to the government on how it plans to achieve that stronger position, and they have been given strict performance targets according to the road map. If Proton succeeds, good – if not, the whole soap opera will likely start again. This is a second chance of sorts given to Proton by its majority stakeholder as per request from Proton’s management themselves.
We should give them the benefit of the doubt for the moment, considering we can now see a genuine desire to improve and positive results have come out of this desire. Proton has to improve the competitiveness of Proton cars in the international market – it cannot sell cars based on pure cheaper pricing without any other advantages forever. The Koreans are also starting to raise their prices, and Hyundai has even started to move upmarket with the RWD V8 Hyundai Genesis. This requires Proton cars to be up to date with the rest of the world in terms of technology and quality.
We are still making what are considered to be barebones plain vanilla cars. Building modern cars requires R&D. R&D requires money. Money requires more profit per car, and that is achieved with better economies of scale which reduces cost of making the car. Economies of scale requires more sales, which is one of the reasons why a tie-up with a foreign partner was seen as necessary — for reasons like sharing of key parts which improves economies of scale.
For now the decision has been made, and those who are crying over their shattered dreams of cheap Proton-badged Golfs to drive cannot really do anything about it. The next thing to look forward to from Proton is the new BLM in 2008 which is the long awaited new Proton Saga, an improved Campro engine with variable intake and CPS cam profiling, and a people carrier model expected in 2009.
[ UPDATE: The talks between Proton and Volkswagen have been called off, but why? Click here for the inside scoop. ]
The verdict is out – Proton and Volkswagen are not tying up together in a partnership that involves stake transfer.
Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop says the earlier plan for Proton to have a foreign strategic partner was no longer applicable as circumstances have changed.
Proton has shown clear improvement in the recent months, including significantly improved sales figures and a popular new model. It will also be launching the new BLM soon, the long awaited People’s Car replacement for the ageing Proton Saga, which despite its age has also become a sales success in recent months thanks to the new Merdeka promotion pricing. The new Saga will come in 2008. There is also an MPV in the works for a 2009 launch.
Consumer confidence in Proton have also been slowly restored, though Proton has a long way to go in that area. Other improvements that the government noted include improving overseas ventures – Proton has had dealings with Iran and China recently. It exported 5,000 Wajas to Iran with plans for GEN2 assembly there, and negotiated a rebadging deal with China’s Jinhua Youngman for them to sell GEN2 cars there under the Europestar badge.
Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop says Volkswagen did not walk away from the negotiation, and there was no breakdown in talks. Volkswagen was disappointed in the government (Khazanah)’s decision to pull out of the talks, but respected its decision.
The government does not rule out the possibility of future strategic alliances with foreign partners, but only at a more appropriate time and when Proton is in a stronger negotiating position. And from what the public can see at least, Proton looks like it is on its way to that position.
Related Posts:
Youngman to sell Proton GEN2 in China badged as Europestar
Proton exports 5,000 Waja taxis to Iran
Right after the report by The Malaysian Reserve a week ago comes another report by The Edge Daily on the Proton and Volkswagen negotiations. According to the report, a Memorandum of Intent will be signed soon and after further due diligence, things should speed up. The collaboration would most likely involve marketing, manufacturing, and distribution.
One thing I found interesting in The Edge’s report – apparently unnamed sources said the negotiations were taking so long to complete because the government wanted to “make sure the ecosystem of vendors and other companies providing services to Proton would not be eliminated.”
Proton shares peaked at 5.10 ringgit (a 18 sen, or 3.7 percent jump) but later settled down to a 1.2 percent increase to 4.98 ringgit as of 3:24 p.m. today.
Read the source to find out more.
