Malaysia, Indonesia to collaborate on ASEAN car project, Proton expected to be involved – Najib

najib-jokowi-malaysia-indonesia-asean-car-1

Thought the so-called Asian/ASEAN car project had slipped away into the sunset? Apparently not, as according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the auto industries of Malaysia and Indonesia will soon work together to make the ASEAN car a reality, Bernama reports.

Newly-appointed Indonesian president Joko Widodo (more popularly known as Jokowi) has expressed interest in the idea mooted by Malaysia, and Proton is expected to be involved in the project, Najib said.

asean car

“A feasibility study of a possible joint production of the ASEAN car by Malaysia and Indonesia will be undertaken and it (the idea) was welcomed by President Jokowi who wants the idea to be pursued further. This means Proton and Indonesia will launch the ASEAN car as a viable project after in-depth studies,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Conversely, DRB-Hicom’s Asian Car Project, announced early last year, was to do with making Malaysia a regional Volkswagen production hub. It later came to light that Proton would also be involved. We don’t know if these two projects are related, or one and the same. Indonesia has a number of national car projects, including the GEA (seen above), a small 640 cc offering made by PT INKA.

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Jonathan James Tan

While most dream of the future, Jonathan Tan dreams of the past, although he's never been there. Fantasises much too often about cruising down Treacher Road (Jalan Sultan Ismail) in a Triumph Stag that actually works, and hopes this stint here will snap him back to present reality.

 

Comments

  • ruffstuff (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 11:05 am

    Honda Brio sedan rebadge is more likely. Proton and DRB had plan to rebadge Brio as entry level A segmen sedan. Good for indonesian market too.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 9
    • Ah Beng (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 12:17 pm

      Not sure whether that idea is reliable or not but Iriz sedan generation will come true..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 3
      • Low Budget on Oct 21, 2014 at 12:31 pm

        Iriz Sedan = Proton Saga Ver III ?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 1
        • Same L0rrr on Oct 21, 2014 at 4:23 pm

          Don’t waste time Cakap Sendiri Syok Sendiri.

          For now, Proton can’t even penetrate Indonesia market.

          In future, you think Malaysian will be interested to buy Indonesian designed cars?

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 20
          • Najib on Oct 21, 2014 at 5:35 pm

            Ada Proton, ada songlap

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 21
          • Rakyat on Oct 21, 2014 at 10:51 pm

            Proton master-bate for 20 years still cannot penetrate?! Lose stim liao!!!

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 2
          • kadajawi (Member) on Oct 22, 2014 at 8:38 pm

            What do you think the Avanza, Innova and Axia are?

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
          • Albert on Oct 22, 2014 at 8:43 pm

            Same lorr, don’t forget there are thousands of Protong diehards and perlindungan supporters out there.
            After “khayalan”,they will buy.
            Malaysians buy csrs from adverts without even test driving.

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2
    • kzm (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 8:17 pm

      indo already has brio..it is called brio satya.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • Semi-Value (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 11:07 am

    dear jokowi, don’t do it unless you wanna step backwards

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 48 Thumb down 10
  • common sensor on Oct 21, 2014 at 11:15 am

    Indonesian automotive industry is driven by private sector. G to G understanding may not necessary executable. This initiative had been mooted before but to no success .. all the best.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 3
  • Oh no.. Indon.. prepare to have your car tax jacked up by a huge margin if your G follow what our G says.. Please say no, we malaysian dont want other country’s citizen to bear the same suffering as us. Allah bless y’all.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 55 Thumb down 8
    • kzm (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 8:52 pm

      they already increase tax called Pajak Penjualan atas Barang Mewah (PPnBM) 10-125% since April (before 10-75%)..indo GST 10%. More than one car oso kena tax 2-10%.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 0
      • Faridz on Oct 23, 2014 at 6:14 pm

        Hi KZM. Assamuailakum. But their car still slightly cheaper. i should say 5% – 10% cheaper. But with this, I am afriad it will up to 20% more expensive than us. LIke Thai..

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • What? We already have Indonesian’s based Axia by Perodua. Remember those Geely-Proton JV talk when he is China visiting Pandas?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
    • Low Budget on Oct 21, 2014 at 12:35 pm

      JV talk everwhere he goes, nothing wrong with that, looking for opportunities mah.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2
  • azrai on Oct 21, 2014 at 12:00 pm

    Better collaborate to bring these ceweks from there to Malaysia.

    http://paultan.org/2014/10/01/iims-2014-jakartas-ceweks-wrap-coverage/

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 0
  • nabill (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    settle the freaking haze u two…we have to suffer every few months

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 35 Thumb down 0
  • ThePolygon on Oct 21, 2014 at 12:56 pm

    That red car next to the Iriz picture is very cute.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 5
  • We export cars to Indonesia and import back haze

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1
  • Malaysian Pendatang on Oct 21, 2014 at 1:40 pm

    Hopefully this Indon gentleman is a promising leader and deliver as he speaks. Otherwise, we can teach ur citizen a phrase where we always use..
    N I hope our monkey clown minister can learn some from their counterpart. Both from same ethnic group, same kinda gene. i hope same mentality. A good one thou, not the other way round. Anyway, God bless Indonesia. Our G fucks us everyday, EN. Jokowi. Please do not do that to fellow Indonesians. Allah Almighty will surely bless you in years to come.

    -From: a discontented fellow Malaysian of “pendatang” orgin-

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 15
  • Iriz_Overload on Oct 21, 2014 at 1:41 pm

    Just had 2 days of breather until today. Yawnzzzzzz……..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • I am sorry for being negative but I don’t see the value to us Malaysian from this collaboration.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 1
  • Proton really loves to do all the ‘shock sendiri’ things – first you have the don’t-know-how-many-billion-times-so-called-joint-venture-with-VW-etc-but-all-never-happen, the so-called Lotus’s Ride & Handling, then the Hang-Tuah-Hang-Jebat-Hang-whatever-then-back-to-rebadge-Mit Lancer, now this??????????

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 8
    • Nokia on Oct 21, 2014 at 8:15 pm

      Proton = Opportunity for crony to songlap

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 7
      • Krony on Oct 21, 2014 at 10:15 pm

        We would like to take the chance to thank Proton for giving us the opportunity to songlap for 20 years. Terima kasih proton, without you, we will not be driving Ferrari!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 7
  • Painter on Oct 21, 2014 at 2:04 pm

    Whatever can foster greater economic and social ties between the 2 nations, I will support.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1
  • Potong on Oct 21, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    As a localize Avanza only sold for RM45k, how low Potong able to offer?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
  • Eurobeat on Oct 21, 2014 at 7:54 pm

    So Proton want collaborate with Indonesian car maker? Please I have visited Indonesia and rarely spot their local car maker.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Chong Wei on Oct 21, 2014 at 10:37 pm

    Kereta bodoh untuk orang bodoh

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
  • Middle Age Driver (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    What’s so special with another Asian car? We already have so many Asian car models. They should instead concentrate on spearheading the adaptation of EV vehicles without heavy taxes & bring the prices down to replace combustion ones.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Aero (Member) on Oct 21, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    I support the idea, but only if all parties are willing to ‘go all out’; because some ideas are nicer envisioned than executed.

    Proton has done something like this before, with Chinese company Youngman in 2008. Initially, Proton exported CBU Proton Gen-2 cars to China, and Youngman swapped out the Proton badges with their own. This is totally different from when Proton rebadged the original Mitsubishi Lancer in 1985, because Proton had the common courtesy to design a few body and interior panels at least. Anyway, the venture was quite profitable, and Youngman started assembling the Proton Gen-2 (CKD) in China in 2009/10. Youngman imported and assembled the Proton Persona as well. Over the years, Youngman had upgraded both cars with new stuff like mirror mounted turn signals, better aircond knobs, a nicer gear stick etc. All little things, but they make a big difference. Of course, they also made their own bumpers, rims and grilles. Youngman still produces the now 10-year-old Gen-2 and Persona for the Chinese market today, and sales aren’t too bad either, with between 100,000 and 200,000 sold to date.

    If Proton has done it before, Proton can definitely do it again. Indonesia is one of the Top 10 biggest car markets in the world. A couple of years back, Indonesia touched the ‘1 million cars sold in a year’ milestone; Malaysia’s annual average is half of that and we’re a far more saturated market. Sales shouldn’t be a problem. However, the biggest problem will have to be the anti-Malaysia sentiment which is still quite prevalent in Indonesia today. I don’t know how the people of Indonesia will perceive the situation, some might support the idea, some might not. But one thing’s for sure, Indonesia once had national car companies like us. The best known is probably Timor, which only made one car, a rebadged 1990s Kia called the Timor S515. However, unlike Proton, Indonesia’s national car project never took off because the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis took a huge toll on Indonesia’s economy, with huge political repercussions. One of the casualties was their national car project. It’s too bad, because I really do think that if Indonesia had a national car like us, there would have been some competition; much like Japan vs. South Korea today (on a much, much smaller and more primitive scale of course). And competition is always good.

    Anyway, I look forward to more news on this project. I’d like to like the idea, but I’m a bit apprehensive nonetheless. We’ll see what happens.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2
  • darkermarker on Oct 22, 2014 at 9:51 am

    In order to attract Proton Buyer Cars, Indonesia will package a cewek for free with it ka?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Proton just close shop la, stop wasting tax payers’ money with all this nonsense. We, the rakyat want better quality cars at a more affordable price, get it?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2
  • Albert on Oct 22, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    I saw thousands of toyota vios which is the standard cab tourists and locals hire in Indonesia last year.
    The taxi fares are cheaper compared to our Bolehland.
    Toyota is the benchmark for cars in Indonesia.
    This Indon/Mal JV project is just a ‘you make me happy,I make you happy exercise.’
    Like Same Lorr said,”Syiok Sendiri”.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
  • old dog on Oct 23, 2014 at 12:13 pm

    so many big manufacturer already invested in Indon, and you think Indon people will buy Protong? lol…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2
 

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