In response to a report earlier today that stated that DRB-Hicom was looking to divest its entire stake in Proton, the parent company has sought to deny those allegations. The industrial conglomerate stated that it remains “highly committed to hold [sic] a substantial and strategic stake” in the national carmaker, and is confident of the latter’s turnaround plan, which it is currently assisting.
However, DRB-Hicom reiterated that Proton is in the midst of undergoing a Request For Proposal (RFP) exercise in seeking a permanent partner that is a strategic, operational and cultural fit, as part of the requirements for the government’s RM1.5 billion soft loan.
This exercise is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017, and its implementation is being overseen by a task force committee formed by the government to monitor the progress of Proton’s turnaround. DRB-Hicom stated that it will make any appropriate announcements to Bursa Malaysia Securities in a timely manner, in accordance with the Bursa Malaysia’s listing requirements, as and when necessary.
Earlier, DRB-Hicom group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar Syed Ali Rethza told Business Times that the report was “not true at all.”
The previous The Star report, along with those from other media which ran the story, stated that DRB-Hicom was expecting as many as seven bids for Proton by the middle of the month, and may even sell as much as 100% to foreign buyers.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
So nak belip siapa? 3rd party or 1st party?
Answer: Internetz of course lah! We r MY pipu. We belip everything on the netz!
Sell Proton – Commercially correct
Keep Proton – Politically correct
How?
Buy & keep toyota – commercially, politically, & sensibility incorrect
Consumer want to buy what, it is not up to you to talkok here and there. Now you are in P2, better get rid of your P1 bad habits. I saw a few salesman previously from P1 got terminated in our showrooms. P1 relax + lazy + talkok culture is not allowed here.
You are one of them
X mau jual..
Gahmen kene donate $1.5Biliun lg…
Except the star isn’t any internet news site
The Star is repot from CIMB Equities….
Potong under this DRB, consider potong unlucky or DRB unlucky…
But sure DRB is no direction and vision at ALL to develop potong, decision change every second count, how to do the actions?
Good luck potong..
You better apply job as Perodua salesman (enjoy big commissions, >6 months bonus) than spewing craps defending junk car.
Who want to buy a car company with Campro engine & CVT bising Punch Powertrain gearbox?
Sell it off to China company!!
Sell to China for 1 US Dollar also maybe no buyers!
No need wayang kulit la….come out in the open and admit it. Just sell it off already.
Haha..Proton bashers will get very upset about this..sleepless nights for them.
so they do read paultan..nice
so they do read paultan
Plot twist
Haha..Proton bashers will get very upset about this..sleepless nights for them.
Oops I don’t think you understand how the wheel turns if you believe in this denial
Wait and see lah! Whether Proton turn belly up or not do not affect anybody’s sleep except the owners.
A lot of deception from the owners right now is understandable bwcauses of business interests lah.
There is no way Proton can remain profitable or competitive on the global or even a regional level without a supporting partner.
The partner need not be more technologically advanced; Proton could always form an alliance with any of the big Chinese car companies (they did so in the past with Youngman for the Chinese market, however, this alliance was mostly one-way). But due to the nature of most Chinese car companies, I would recommend that an alliance with a Chinese car company be a last ditch option. Few Chinese car companies respect IPs and abide international laws. Geely still shamelessly sells cloned Toyota and other models today, there is no guarantee that they will respect Proton’s IPs, but so far, they’ve taken good enough care of Volvo Cars.
Alternatively, Proton could partner with one of the major world car companies, preferably not Volkswagen (they already have Skoda and SEAT), nor General Motors (they have Daewoo). Renault-Nissan is not an ideal partner because they have Dacia, Lada and Datsun. Toyota Group is also ruled out because of Perodua.
Groupe PSA is the logical partner, because as far as I know, they have no ‘budget nameplate’ in their portfolio. Suzuki is also a good partner, as apart from Maruti, they have no other budget nameplates. Also, I think Hyundai-Kia, Honda and Mazda would all make good partners.
Proton shouldn’t be sold off completely, it will be a short term gain for DRB-HICOM but a long term loss for our automotive industry. If Proton goes, Perodua will become the ‘next target’. That is why Perodua is not outwardly hostile towards Proton. In fact, recently I read news about Perodua offering to share their new Sendayan-assembled engines with Proton. If Perodua hated Proton, they would’ve never made such an offer.
In Japan, many car companies compete against each other both domestically and internationally, but in the end, they still work together as one, in the greater interest of the industry, country and her people. For example, the Subaru BR-Z/ Toyota 86… Nissan buying a stake in Mitsubishi and ‘saving them’… the same thing is also seen in Europe.
Which begs the question… why make an enemy out of your own sibling ? Proton shouldn’t rule out Perodua as a potential partner as well.
Proton is a beggar. Beggars can’t be choosers.
If Proton’s IP copied, they think they got right to bite the hand that feeds them?
In the first place, Proton got IP that’s so valuable meh? Lotus handling? Puh-leez, no use if quality and reputation so low, no one need to pay goodwill to take over Proton.
No quality but you claimed to have one!
And God pleaseeeeee no French. Waja 1.8 and Savvy AMT owners sure agree with me, they’re scarred for life. Absolute junk reliability, and cutthroat parts price.
VW, PSA & Renault-Nissan have excellent tech. know-how on entry level (A/B segment) to medium sized cars (C-segment). Suzuki excels more in the A/B segment.GM strength?50-50.Honda & Mazda? It’s going to be a distraction to them, same case for the Koreans. China companies? – forget it.
VW and Renault/Nissan aren’t terrible options though. Skoda and Seat are too upmarket already, there is plenty of space beneath them. IIRC VW intends to create a new brand to compete with Dacia etc. However I don’t think Proton belongs on one level with Dacia, their current cars are already too good for that. They would slot in a bit below Skoda and Seat, still leaving space for a proper budget brand underneath.
For Renault Nissan… I’d say it’s Datsun, for extremely crappy cheap terrible deadly cars, Lada basically as the same, a bit better perhaps, in the Russian market (Datsun is mostly known in Asian regions). Dacia does cars like Perodua I’d say. Proton is above that, and could fill in the gap between Dacia and Renault/Nissan. Basically Proton could be what Hyundai/Kia covered before… sensible cars with decent safety, but more affordable than current Hyundai/Kia cars.
PSA has Citroen as budget brand (as much as that may hurt). IMHO they fill a similar area as Proton would, unless Proton cars are downgraded. The only difference is that Citroen is more comfort focused, and more eccentric.
VW is a lousy option. They r the equivalent of the Dark Side in automotive. Suzuki was badly burnt by their Dark Force and P1 saw what was gonna happen before they pull out 1st time.
Renault/Nissan, is a marriage of unequal partners. Renault was doing better at the time of marry, but now Nissan is doing better than Renault. Yet the French r still wearing the pants and Nissan is seething underneath at this injustice. Sooner rather than later, they will divorce once Nissan can buy back their shares.
PSA r too French and too eccentric to be partner for mass market.
My suggestion. Since TPPA coming, shud try partner with US automakers. We wud be new market for them as well as theirs to us.
Can not la dei, look what US have done to Mazda. Kaput la dei. At least, Mazda is the true fighter, waking up from the ashes. Buying all the stake from Ford and look what they are now.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. US automakers are unreliable.
Proton only worth to partner with China car companies. Don’t dream too much okay.
U mean like what Warren Buffet is doing?
He must not be aiming too high, right?
The two P’s marrying are only hated amongst cronies.
Good luck in finding a suitable “groom”. This “bride” has too much baggage. Proton & Malaysia are already well known by the foreign manufacturers to be insincere and does not negotiate in good faith. In business, your reputation precedes you. Ask Mitsubishi, Peugeot & Honda about their working relationship with Proton. Ask VW Group about the fail negotiations. Foreigners will rather go to Thailand or Indonesia if they want cheaper labour, tax incentives, less corruption, less cronyism etc. Workers can be trained from scratch to their standards, without the baggage carried over from Proton work ethics. Same with management staff. This “bride” is an old maid, with baggage and her sell by date has expired long ago.
Media outlets can’t have misreported something as big as this. Think logically. There must be some truth in it but they now have to deny it to minimise some risks. Someone may have broken a non-disclosure agreement.
TCSS again… one moment say this, next moment say another. Come on Mr.Ministers…. buckle up!
Err. DRB pipu r not ministers…
I do want to see DRB sneefing money somewhere else and let Proton swim along with their new partner. I wish to see Proton strive but also would like to see them sink, if old stinks still sticking.
Proton lelong itself also nobody wants. What an idiot and rubbish company. Proton shud rename itself as Sampah la
potong stim
Whatever DRB-Hicom denies Proton sale report or not….just better change No contributions management people of Proton include DRM-Hicom…. always keep remains committed to turnaround, strategic partner search and nothing change actual problem from core management
I vote for FCA or PSA.
lol.. these guys are not serious. trying to do damage control. So pathetic its crazy
They are so afraid of someone questioning them about the soft-loan.
Where have all the soft loan gone, long time passing?
Where have all the soft loan gone, long time ago?
Where have all the soft loan gone?
Gone for personal pocket everyone.
Oh when will they ever learn?
Oh when will they ever learn?
Just now basher said 1.5bil only for MyProton apps! And many other slandering will be coming
With the launched of Bezza and new myvi / Alza coming, Proton knows it’s new Saga and Persona cannot sustain it’s business. Their existing fleet like Preve and Exora sales dived to the maximum. Their Perdana lagi worst, my friend working in Proton say they probably sold like 200 units a month. Way way below the expectations. The only model they can sell is Iriz and that’s during their Raya season with massive discounts and many roadshows. After that the iriz sales will plummet like no tomorrow. I own a Proton, and will never own a Proton ever in my life again. I own myvi before and regretted selling it away. Proton can be a good brand, just like Hyundai or Kia or Subaru, it’s the people who manages it that destroy the brand. The quality of the cars now are worst than Waja period. The best car Proton has ever produced is still the Waja. Great handling. Powerful engine, smooth transmission, quiet NVH and pretty reliable and comparable to many Japanese C segment. However their new cars nowadays like Preve which I’m currently owning is by far the worst car I had ever driven. Exora is also by far the worst and crappiest MPV out there, my aunty complaining of its numerous problems. I really hope Proton can find a good partner like Perodua, it’s OK to lose some pride and rebadge other brand models. Many manufacturers does that anyway. Aussie Holden and GM, Scoda and Volkswagen, Ford and Mini, Mazda and Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen, Kia and Hyundai, they crosses platform with each other and uses each other engines and they sold millions of cars by doing so. So there’s a way for Proton too. Just like Perodua and Daihutsu, they are doing extremely well. Proton please please wake up and buck up for the sake of this brand Proton used to be Malaysians pride, however that was 20 years ago. 10 years back people started to lose trust in your company becos you doesn’t seem to care about what we Malaysians want or deserve. You don’t introduce anymore new cars, probably one model every 5 years. Other manufacturers overtook you by miles ahead and you still can’t figure out to make a proper engine with good and quiet drive train. It seems that the old Perdana and Waja days are gone. And now you waited 20 years and rebadge a 7 years old Honda Accord and call it your new Perdana? Malaysians are very disappointed. Even those overseas who had loved Proton felt disappointed. You used to be such a good manufacturers that probably had inspired other manufacturers with your Waja and Perdana with V6 engines and now you still cannot make a quiet and powerful 1.6L engine. All you have is the campro and only when your company suffers so tremendously on the verge of bankruptcy you wanna tell the world you have the turbo engines la which will be coming in 2017/2018. Don’t you think it’s too late to regain the trust of Malaysians? If your own people don’t buy your products how do you think the world will buy it?
Very Well Said .. I agree 100% with you….
I wonder how is 103bhp in the first batch waja is considered powerful.
Proton Waja is definitely the best proton car that proton has ever built.
” If your own people don’t buy your products how do you think the world will buy it?”
– Maybe Bangladesh car market is okay for Proton salvation.
Proton need a advanced technical partner , in the first years Proton has sold a lot of cars at UK and other European countries .
Need more input from Lotus Engineering and Lotus Design , Proton Motorsport was an important ‘ player’ in international motorsport with the ‘most beautiful’ Satria S 2000 . There are still somme of them running in British Rally Championchip today and make great results against modern FIA R5 cars !
bad move. their shares will drop again today because of this news. they jumped yesterday because their stake holders want to get rid of Proton and today they will drop again, how can these people call themselves managers?. they have no business sense. how on earth they can co exist with any party with their stone age God type ego????????? Proton is gone with the winds… Proton must be fully sold off and let new owner take care of it. DRB-Hicon must wash its hands from it. they took enough blood from it already. Vampires…
Its normal. Problematic company always have flip flop news.
Remember how Rayani Air convince the people that they have money to refund the customers? What happen to them now? Same goes to Proton.
Nak jual, kena bash.
Tak nak jual, pun kena bash.
Basher winliaolor!
The best for Proton is to make a deal with Geely/Volvo , they have a European design team and a developement center in Sweden . Geely has plans for a brand between Geely and Volvo to enter international markets . Proton could use new engine from Volvo to match European emision and CMA platform for future Proton cars .
The best for Proton is to make a deal with Geely/Volvo , they have a European design team and a developement center in Sweden . Geely has plans for a brand between Geely and Volvo to enter international markets . Proton could use new engine from Volvo to match European emision and CMA platform for future Proton cars . From a Proton – Lotus lover from Europe
Forget first and put second reply ‘online’
Yesterday i post a comment on selling all stock to new foreign company, so that they have a good vision, fresh and hardworking management, even though they also good for corporate with Perodua Daihatsu company. Too bad they REALLY “Pusing sini ,PUSING SANA” How long you wanna do that proton? Only yesterdays news now you change your mind already, DRB-HICOM. I really hope that if you guys wanna make any decision, please lah dont just simply make any Promise if you not sure what would happen next! Those money is from a Hardworking Rakyat Money And TAX! Even not every rakyat can afford to buy your what so call “National cars”. I see a Malay abang fetching a Three small kids using motorcycle ,and his children didnt even wearing a single helmet too. Please lah, government, would you just please take a few minute aroud,look at your surrounding, just taking good care of those poor rakyat, many rakyat dont even have enough proper meal everydays(I working with charity group thats why i know,worst even worst every single years to comes) Oh wait a minute, i forget about Mohamed Nazir bin Abdul Razak (Najib Razak Brother) were mention before, “our goverment is busying on other things ,rather than malaysia economy or rakyat prosperity” :/
Got used P2 below 5k, cheaper than motorbike
Yeah.. suppose to buy used kancil/kelisa/viva than motocycle..
Damage control time.
What if DRB Hicom published to sell and pull back statement just to see smart people’s idea all around Malaysia =)
Alamak, bashers cant sleep tonight bos of this news..
woaaaa.. a lot or automotive talk alike ‘professor’ right here.. once see entry under Proton.. these ‘professor’ will come like ants surrounding at the sugar.. bash2 kaw2.. talking high like sky.. then so proud become instant prof… hahaha..
gud job lah paultan.. u breeding up so many instant prof here than my institution can’t.
You must be from UiTM/Mara
not so laar.. why must to say UiTM?
but for sure not from UNITAR or U-LimKoKWing
u must be one of these arr?
either way, sell or not selling proton, malaysian are still screwed…