In a major turn of events, Proton is reportedly seeking additional funds from the government exactly a year after the latter agreed to provide RM1.5 billion soft loan; Geely, meanwhile, has apparently returned to negotiations to become the national carmaker’s foreign strategic partner (FSP), having told a Chinese newspaper it had pulled its bid last month.
The Edge Malaysia, quoting several sources familiar with the matter, stated that Proton is requesting between RM1.5 billion and RM1.8 billion from the government to cover massive losses in its operations. The company is expected to record major losses in the financial year 2017 in the midst of slowing sales, based on the RM1.426 billion net loss it reported in FY2016 ending March 31.
This comes after the federal government channeled RM1.25 billion to Proton last year – which was almost immediately used up to settle outstanding payments to Proton’s vendors – and put mounting pressure on the company to secure a foreign partner that will inject the necessary funds and turn it around.
But even the search for an ideal suitor is on shaky ground, after it was speculated that PSA Group’s interest in the bid has been waning – a rumour ignited by the lack of a deal struck during French president Francois Hollande’s visit to Malaysia last month. Just a week prior, Geely president An Conghui told the South China Morning Post that the company had withdrawn its bid, the only competing one to PSA’s.
“For the French president to come all this way and nothing to be signed? That is very telling. If they [PSA and Proton] could see eye-to-eye at a high level, they could have at least signed a memorandum of understanding first. The other details can always be sorted out later,” said one industry executive.
The French conglomerate’s interest in Proton is part of a wider global strategy that it is pursuing under the leadership of Carlos Tavares, which has also resulted in the acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall. Tavares is looking to gain a firm foothold in the ASEAN market, but sources suggest that the group is becoming less interested in using Proton for this strategy, and may be looking at other avenues with fewer political pitfalls.
In a bid to put these concerns to rest, Proton’s parent company DRB-Hicom released a statement last month, with managing director Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar saying, “All parties that have submitted bids for Proton are still in the running and DRB-Hicom is still evaluating these bids.”
Syed Faisal added that the group needed more time to select a bidder – it previously stated that it would only announce a suitable partner at the end of the first half of the year, right around the deadline the government gave Proton to find one as part of the terms of the soft loan.
Although this statement was clearly contradictory to An’s comments of Geely pulling its bid, sources told The Edge that the Chinese carmaker has indeed returned to negotiations now that PSA’s prospects were less certain. It’s now rumoured that Geely’s sudden withdrawal in the FSP stakes a week before Hollande’s visit may have been a negotiation strategy after all.
Prior to all of this, Geely was the prime candidate, with certain parties hoping that its strategy for Proton would mirror its acquisition of Volvo from Ford in 2010. The Swedish premium brand was allowed to retain much of its operational independence and was able to minimise layoffs.
But Geely – and possibly PSA as well – may not value Proton so highly in terms of human capital, with both companies having access to superior technology and expertise; they likely view Proton only as a means to break into the broader ASEAN market.
Geely, for example, was reportedly looking at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant as a base to build right-hand drive versions of its Lynk & Co 01 SUV for export to various RHD markets such as the UK and Australia. The company is also said to have plans to establish Proton as an entry-level brand within its overall structure, and that it is also intent in securing Lotus as part of the tie-up.
However, there’s an impending general election expected to be called as soon as the third quarter of this year, so any talk of job cuts among Proton’s 12,000-strong workforce will be met with strong political pushback – as will a consolidation of its vendor network, currently employing 50,000 people.
Then there’s the issue of how much management control the eventual partner will have over Proton. “It doesn’t matter who becomes the strategic partner of Proton. Both Geely and PSA will not come in if they are not given management control. Let’s just say, this is making the negotiations challenging,” said one source.
The Edge noted that going forward, the government has to consider the cost Proton will incur if it fails to secure a foreign strategic partner, with the company requesting considerably more funds on top of the ones it has already given, which turned out only to be a temporary lifeline. Continual losses will trigger the conversion of the soft loan into equity, effectively turning the government into a major shareholder in Proton.
Sales of Proton’s vehicles have yet to turn around despite the launch of four new models, the Perdana, Persona, Saga and Ertiga – all crammed into last year. The company only mustered sales of 13,306 units in the first two months of 2017, resulting in a 15.3% market share – in line with last year’s lacklustre sales.
With its last-gasp bid to prop up sales not having the effect it was supposed to, The Edge says that the next few months of negotiations with Geely and PSA will be closely watched, as they could make or break the national marque. No pressure, then.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
yes, “the government has to consider the cost Proton will incur if it fails to secure a foreign strategic partner”.
and general election is just around the corner.
apa macam?
Gov’t increases excise duty on budget MPVs by 5%.
Manyak tenkiu pemilik BR-V, Sienta, Alza bantu subsidi RM1.8Bil..
OMG OMG. This is crazy. According to Mustapa, Proton has already taken RM15 bil plus RM1.5 bil. Those are official figures. RM16.5 billion taken from rakyat’s money
We all know, the figure is much more than that. We know Proton was Tun M’s baby and when he was PM, Tun M took much much more for Proton. One hand he used to take from Petronas and the other hand, he will give Proton freely. All unaccounted and unaudited.
So we can presume the figure is at least RM50 to RM 60 billion. And now they ask somemore?
Why can’t their workers all look for jobs on jobstreet like all of us? Everybody also have been VSS or terminated before and yet, we look for jobs on jobstreet.com. What is so special about Proton workers?
Are they gold?
Good Things, No Cheap. Cheap Things, No Good.
Where is the No 1 supporter of Proton? Where is he? Senyap sahaja?
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Silence is Golden.
Proton is losing about RM4 million per day. Yet, not even one of its directors and management have offered to take a pay cut.
All of them enjoying fat 6 figures per month salary with all sort of benefits and perks. Such as driver, limousines, entertainment allowances etc.
In overseas, if a company is doing badly, the directors and management will volunteer a pay cut.
In Proton? Not even a sen. No one has offered to take a pay cut. shameful. And yet, dare to ask more money from rakyat.
Hidden due to lowcomment rating. Click here to see.
Sapot protek…. Ini kalilah Barisan Kita
too many lazy workers in Proton
Actually, with Proton, the more correct saying would be “Good Thing, plus Proton’s touch (badge), and thing becomes No Good/Unwanted” regardless. Example, the perfectly fine Suzuki Ertiga becoming the quite unwanted Proton Ertiga. With a brand reputation as bad as that, who in their right mind would want to pay good money for the Proton brand?
Good job Proton! I’m so proud of u!
The future for Proton will not be ‘bleak’ if Geely decides to marry Proton after it is screwed
For crying out loud…sell off the “damn” thing…I agreed with KKK, stop protecting a few bunch of workers and save the freaking nation. Debts of country is getting higher la…
National pride must be protected at all cost
Where is keyboard warrior that support Proton always? All hiding?
who cares about loss? Aren’t you proud we have our own national car make?? oh wai!
Exactly like some US banks, Proton is too big to fail.
Syabas kerajaan prihatin, kerja terjamin.
TO John: We cannot be proud if they are making lousy car and the company is making loss. What is there to be proud of?
If u can’t be proud of our National car, u can’t be proud to be Malaysian
Petronas is selling half an oilfield off sarawak for rm 4.5 Billion.
No wonder this shameful Protong dare to ask for another Rm1.8 Billion.
Having lost rm 1.4 Billion,last financial year…tak malu…some more minta no need to pay back grant of Rm1.8B?
No wonder excise duties increased,gomen pensioners got zero supply of certain medications,….just to throw money into the abyss called Protong.
YAB Nazri,,,u said Protong is a white elephant.Now your comrades r about to take tax dollars and going to pump it into Protong.
Just insaf…Mr.DRB…tutup kedai.Pengemis antara bangsa.
Copy and paste post. No life
company filled with lazy type of pipu
Useless piece of junk. Wasting gov’s time, wasting taxpayers money. Please close shop I beg you P1
Useless piece of junk.
Geely Volvo Proton > All
Tax the rich so no problem.
Let us also not forget what Proton has caused us. Because of protectionism and MITI telling car companies what to price their cars, all car companies RAN away to Thailand.
In the 80s, we were heading to be the Detroit of Asia. Because of all the nonsense MITI was doing controlling the prices of all cars and telling japanese cars what CKD supplier they should use, all lari to Thailand.
We lost hundreds of billion USD investment plus hundreds of thousands of jobs to Thailand. Even until today, every few months we hear every other month, Thailand is getting billions of USD being invested in Thailand. All lost.
See how much Malaysians have lost?
dont forget, Thailand is also getting attention as EV hub recently. Malaysia missed again.
Nothing can cure Proton.
Nobody can cure Proton’s problems until each and every vendor and supplier is changed. Each of the vendors and suppliers are now 30 years old. They are all cronies.
They overcharge Proton crazy and yet, they give Proton super cheap parts, stinking Proton’s good name. For example 1 car mat alone they charge RM100 when you can buy the same mat at Brothers for RM5
Till today, all vendors remain the same. Even Geely got fed up when they said vendors need to be changed. But nobody can change the vendors as they are all owned by existing politicians and their sons.
How to change them when they are running the gomen?
So it is nothing new if GOV give proton money and proton pay to vendor! After all, the vendors is GOV!.
in 1995 when I was working for Proton Edar (back then, its name was USPD) sports rim was listed as optional. However, every buyer was forced to take – like it or not.
the wheels for satria 1.3 was only 13″ 5JJ, and locally made. How much Proton charged? RM1,600 for a set of 4 pcs.
Damn.
In the 1990s when demand for Proton cars was high, EON dealer demanded under-table money $6K to speed up the delivery of my
Proton Wira 1.6 while second-hand Wira were selling for more than the new ones.
where are all the champions of Proton now? The ones that go oh wai oh wai oh wai oh wai???
All hiding kah?
Shopping mall penuh, setabaks long q, kfc penuh, iphone 8, samsung sold out, rumah mahal, Volvo makin laku, mana rakyat terjejas?”
I hope our government give the RM1.8 bil Proton is asking for. We need to save Proton! oh wai!
Protong has undergone chemotherapy,radiation,chinese herbs,bangla herbs,still cannot be cured.
Just die lah.I m sure the burial ground in Nilai will be donated to u free.
Anyone know how to be Proton’s vendor?
Geely – drama queen
No drama. Sweden once spent USD 3.4Bil to rescue Volvo.
Now Volvo makes record profit, and paid back Swedish govt with corporate tax that’s more than ever.
Volvo > all
Geely > all
Proton S90 T8 our pride.
Volvo Proton > all Geely > all
Come on Malaysian. We buy only Perodua, Toyota & Honda after this. No more Proton! Let Proton terus bungkus!
P1 muka tebal enough and dare to ask for another RM1.8 billion (9 zeros!!!) regardless of the previous Rm1.5 bil as if nothing even happen.
I sincerely hope our dear Msia Gov not stupid enough to issue that RM1.8bil.
Simple, funnel all money Out as we know big e day coming, all debt will be new owner problem.
Proton is bleeding each day and they act like they’re indenial. The number of workers still bloated, still maintain high production rate, etc.
They should do like what Malaysia Airlines did. Put the company into bankrupt. And then create a new entity, cut down workers and transfer the assets and renegotiate the contracts with suppliers etc; more importantly elect transformational leader.
Proton still rilek nak cari partner. Dude! You’re losing money each day and now you want to suck our money RM1.8bil! That is why we rakyat don’t want to support and want to see you arrogant guys fail. And we were right!
It is just a stupid syiok sendiri ‘national car’ project that nobody wants.
You guys don’t deserve our money. We have more serious issues to tackle. Fix the ringgit, boost tourism, agriculture, etc.
Proton under DRB kan.
Apsal mau mintak duit Rakyat??
Bailout or bankrap…or Both.
In the late 80s, we good get a good Toyota Corolla or a Nissan Sunny 130Y for RM20k. Today, the Toyota Corolla is now RM139k
This is a jump of 700% from 1985 to 2016
But in Japan, the Toyota Coroola price have only gone up 50% from 1985 to 2016.
So Malaysian jump 700%
Japan jump 50%
According to statistics from 1985 to 2016 car sales, Malaysians, with the presumption that Malaysians have overpaid by RM30k for each car bought, we have overpaid RM360 billion
Every Malaysian have overpaid RM360 billion just because gomen wanted to protect Proton.
Imagine how many government hospitals and schools could have been built giving free healthcare to the rakyat of Malaysia?
Betuii ka ni?….another RM 1.8 billion?
Proton is bleeding each day and they act like they’re indenial. The number of workers still bloated, still maintain high production rate, etc.
They should do like what Malaysia Airlines did. Put the company into bankrupt. And then create a new entity, cut down workers and transfer the assets and renegotiate the contracts with suppliers etc; more importantly elect transformational leader.
Proton still rilek nak cari partner. Dude! You’re losing money each day and now you want to suck our money RM1.8bil! That is why we rakyat don’t want to support and want to see you arrogant guys fail. And we were right!
It is just a stupid syiok sendiri ‘national car’ project that nobody wants.
You guys don’t deserve our money. We have more serious issues to tackle. The money can be used to fix the ringgit by boost tourism, agriculture, education, healthcare, etc.
Hahahahah soft loans? Ain’t nobody got time for dat!
RM1,500,000,000.00 loan hutang pun belum bayar, lagi tak malu nak minta RM1,800,000,000.00 billion.
Ada ka orang kalau tak boleh bayar kereta, kena tarik. Proton macam tak ada apa lagi mau minta duit.
Kasi tutup la!
Increase more tax for sedan car, then Gov can loan to proton infinity times. :p
The irony about this article is that while reading on my phone, perodua advert was playing in the background. Raining on the wounds of proton.
Proton as a brand is doom. Is best at this point just to liquidate its assets and begin selling the brand outright, something I’m sure any major manufacturer will be interested. The best the government can do at this point is to relocate protons 12,000 strong workforce to work elsewhere and im pretty sure there’s still certain areas in Malaysia that could use their expertise.
The biggest looser probably now, and will always be should proton fail are the vendors and share holder which are also the reason why Proton is still alive. And even with Geely or PSA in I don’t see how as a brand, proton can win here. Unlike Volvo there’s no pedigree or history in proton internationally worth saving, a Jaguh Kampung. i honestly at this point fail to see how Proton can still be a viable national asset or pride. It’s 4 car strike plane have seen no results.
What has been said and I’m sure there’s still some who will cling on to hope. But whatever happens. Money will still be bled and that’s not what I call a win win for the rakyat.
But if you read it correctly, when 1.5 B soft loan in hand, P1 immediately clear supplier debt!
They are only using those 12K workers (worst they use bumi, race)to justify their loan!
P1 don’t care about their worker lar! If they can sell worker, they will do it!
The brand of doom is Perodua if you drive one and get into an accident.
The Malaysian side need to seriously think about this during the negotiations – you want to uphold the National pride or risk losing thousands of local job? Some kind of win-win situation/compromise need to be achieved in this matter.And of course time is running out for Proton/DRB-Hicom. Their Top Management need to act swiftly & wisely.
Perwaja, Mas, KTM & Proton, will continue loss for another 5 years.
They are not expecting soft loans, they are expecting donations.
Yeah go Proton!!
1.8b? No problemo for as long as there are taxpayers.
“It’s now rumoured that Geely’s sudden withdrawal in the FSP stakes a week before Hollande’s visit may have been a negotiation strategy after all.”
the china man clearly has a bag full of tricks n knows how to haggle..
Does proton look like they have any right to demand their value?
Malu la wei. Cakap power, tapi mengemis rm1.5bil duit rakyat.
Konon lepas tu da boleh jadi jaguh dunia, tapi now nak mengemis rm1.8bil. Ptuik
They should be begging on their knees desperately to Geely, but so syok sendiri wanna demand this and that. Sila meninggal.
1st… is the 1.5 B returned?
2nd…as what I had say… they only take those money to pay their supplier.. that how the game work! P1 only ise thdir employee name… but mean to take their employee interest!
3rd what p1 has achieved with the 1.5B soft loan? Perdana and Etika… which sell less than 1k unit to public!
The only way is to sell off proton! 100%! P1 is blood sucker .. Vampire! Shame on P1!
Proton should announce bankruptcy and restructure, focusing on efficiency and practicality in operation.
Most M&A deals are negotiated on a cash-free and debt-free basis.
Hello P1, hal nie langsung X farny lah dan hari nie bkn April Fools’.
In business world, if the company is not making profit, sell it off. ‘Selesaikan’. No such thing as national pride if the govn has to keep on forking monies! Solve the problem by selling it off to foreign partners or what so ever, in order to save the company. Pass to them the responsibility to manage and make the company turn around. Like what happened to MAS, Khazanah was picked to manage the co. The director was westerner. He managed to turnaround MAS right. Do the same thing if the Govn dont want foreign party to involve. All the best!
Sapot 60k Proton staff, vendor & 1.6Juta kakitangan awam.
Program Latihan Khidmat Negara.
Hahaha what a joke
Tak glemer lah kalau fresh Banker atau Engineer pakai Proton kan?
Paling tidak, nak angkat Honda City, Toyota Vios.. Kan kan?
Skrg semua kene Up..nak impress awek & bakal mak mertua. Kete mahal..lambang kebanggan & kejayaan Anda.
aku rilek je beli Iriz manual…tp aku dah kawin la…hahaha
Manual? Ada lg orang beli manual zaman ni?
CVT lembab tok
Like a drug addict once finish using the money keep asking for more… do we give the addict more money or sent to rehabilitation?
Excellent comparison. But our Gov still prefer to give more to the addict bcos they can ask for more $$$ later.
Proton should just screw themselves. What national pride? Sweden doesn’t own Volvo. UK doesn’t own Mini. So what? Please la proton, if there’s so much of a pride, close yourself down.
How incompetent, ineffective and iresponsible can DRB-Proton managment be right now..? Asking for more money from the govt is all they can think of as a solution…? If DRB-Proton mgmt can’t make it viable then why buy over P1 in the first place…? Forget the sentiments n just sell off the whole Proton lock stock n barrel once n for all.
DRB owns Honda. When Honda sales are skyhigh, what makes you think they have the time to bother P1 with their shitty sales.
adoi…mnx lg 1.8b? x ckup g 1.6b?mnx dri kerajaan, tp yg byar duet tuh sume spe g.. rakyat gak. strategik partner x umum2 g dh byk news psal nih ak tgk. dh jemu daaa.. be more competitive la proton please. bru skarang nk bgun. all the best for u la proton.
TDM’s two main legacies are being dismantled i.e. Malaysia F1 GP and Proton.
Twin Towers, Putrajaya & KLIA still standing proud^^
True, but if not for Petronas the Twin Towers will also be sold.
there goes all the taxpayers money.
sudah ada tongkat still mintak duit?
why not just sell off proton to geely?
Another soft loan. Its our Tax Payers money.. The money can used for so many good cause instead keep pumping into Proton.
Why Not just declare bankrupt and close Proton.
Where are all the proton supporters of Suprima, Persona, Saga, Exora, Perdana, etc? Keyboard warriors of Proton, commenting about how bad are other makes and praising how good is the performance of the protons, where are they now?
What comments have they got to give, comparing Proton againts other global automotive companies?
Will the “upgraded” turbo’s and superb handling they have will give them the boost of extra RM1.8 billion cash? Not forgetting, the turbo failure causing the unrepayment of RM1.5 billion soft loan earlier on.
bank will reluctant to approve ur loan if u want to buy a proton..ask anybody in the banking industry..they’ll tell u..a person has submitted a loan for suprima but was turned down by the bank and he just simply submitted another loan for haval M4 n this time it was approved! even haval is getting better appreciation by malaysian ank…..true story..
even the bank are ganging up to close proton..lelong..lelong..leong..sapa mau bili?
Proton supporter still using Proton Wira & Waja bro.. Then upgrade to Honda & Toyota.. No more Persona, Preve, Suprima S or Perdana!
Kalau jual kat china…..tolong jangan beli poroton lagi. Kasi bankrap ini company. Kereta china pakai buang…..kalau mngt poroton jual kat geeeely…dia orang poroton mngt hari hari makan nasi lemak……otak tak boleh pakai….
You should quickly get out of that coconut shell you are living under.
What most do not reealise here is that…it pays to keep Proton running..and no it’s not about saving jobs or that nonsense..it’s the best way for the government to issue ‘cash injections’ despite it being a PRIVATE company…and who does this cash go to?..vendors who are connected to the decision makers in the FIRST PLACE…
Proton has always about producing barely competant cars whole profiting the politically linked supply chain constantly from the rakyat..it’s never been in their interest to take it further from that ..it’s the perfect mechanism. Most industries in Malaysia are built that way…Pay TV, ISP etc…in the end..the ruling elite and their connections are the ones that win..
spot ON!
Not unique to Malaysia. Singapore Bus service is a listed company but when time to buy 500 new buses, Singapore govt paid. WTF.
i cant see the problem with that . unless you tell me the singapore gov money move into private hands which are politically connected to lee hsien loong ? otherwise its just taxpayer money being used for infra to service the taxpayer.
Memang benci reading this news. Dafuq happen to P1? Tak tau malu ke sudah dewasa asyik mintak duit from mak bak. Malaysia is actually a damn rich country. Got so many precious raw resources and strategic ports. But when comparing to world and Gdp, it rated as 3rd world country. Because all sucker politician took it all and left nothing for rakyat. Please wake up!!! wake up!! and wake up!!!
1) It is a Fact that P1 net loss is RM1.426 billion in 2016 ending March 31
2) It is a Fact that P1 is loosing millions per day.
3) It is a fact that P1 NEEDED another 1.5 – 1.8 Billion to stay afloat.
Do M’sian still NEED P1 ?? Sorry, I mean do P1 Need Rakyat tax payers $$$ to survive/stay afloat ??! The last time i mention that P1 is in ICU, was I wrong ?!
Remove life support. Period
Bloody hell this company will bankrupt the country. Good luck Malaysia.
Apasal kalo manyak untung sangat , itu apa nama T-U-Tun tak beli sedangkan dia yang start masalah kita ni ?
Ada kutip GST, LHDN. So no masalah.
potong can now buy a plot at nirwana semenyih and rest there peacefully, dont disturb people anymore
Wrong. If Proton gulung tikar, it’s DRB going to Nirvana. Nobody cares about Proton, but it’s the crony associates that were in the limelight.
proton adalah jenama yang baik, cuma ketepikan orang2 politik dan bagi peluang kepada seorang yang boleh berniaga dan pandai menjual kereta mengikut segment dan pastinya semua bakal high end car buatan proton mestilah dibawah RM 90 ribu dan x lebih…
hakikat rakyat yang talam dua muka pun satu hal, jika proton rebadge daripada mecedes pun mereka akan kutuk proton tapi jika mecedes rebadge atau menggunakan chassis daripada proton mereka akan mengagugkan jenama luar…
Seperti dijanjikan, harga kereta akan diturunkan secara berperingkat hingga 2017.
proton jenama baik.
U sendiri pakai perodua…huhuhhuhuh
..its not the workers they are protecting, its the vendor!
What vendors? All vendors are dying only drb hicom companies work with proton are protected.
JUST SELL OFF PROTON PLEASE. I don’t want my tax money going to a losing profit company wtf
i thought proton under DRB already? If need money, just ask from DRB, why need to ask from government?
Tu la, macai syok when DRB bought proton, telling basher it’s proof proton no longer makan duit rakyat.
Where to put face now? RM1.5bil tak cukup, next rm1.8bil? Godai.
Drb money out to e day la…
“Papa… papa… i need more money…”
-Proton-
simple..if Carlos Ghosn from Renault_Nissan_Mitsubishi Alliance did not even consider having joint venture with Proton it means Proton is in bad shape..He is known to be risk taker turning around Nissan (Renault was even smaller than Nissan when he took over) which was making loss into profitable company and now he is doing the same for Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi was embroiled in fuel consumption scandal for their cars yet Carlos Ghosn still has faith in them.
I bet if gov gives more cash to proton Rakyat will never vote for them. Close proton and all people will vote for gov. Proton is a dead brand that only serves the political moves of the ex chairman and his team.
MITI reveals all six members of Proton loan task force “The task force, led by Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala, will be responsible in monitoring the implementation of Proton’s plans to revive its business, which in turn will make the company more competitive, said MITI minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed in a report by The Star”
What happen Proton loan task force members…all talk and then what happen …now another 1.8 billion of rakyat’s money going to be given and again this time they will come out with 8 members of the NEW task force !!! What a waste of money, end of the day nobody held accountable and for what a white elephant producing failed car models after models, iris, persona, perdana, all bungkus and in the stockyard waiting for year end mega 50 to 60% discount sale …go open abroad in Potong in Chile lar…. 3S center …..all miss managed until nobody wanna even partner with potong offering 51% stake control…also nobody wann ….what a waste paying of tax payers money…sell the damm potong and close shop !!! Such a clear cut failure !! Somebody should do a Hollywood movie about potong, maybe they might actually make some money out of the movie become number 1 box office hit !!!
This Proton’s bleak future situation is contributed by the facts that IT CANNOT SELL MORE CARS that it expected to.
Various reasons for this:
1. Wait and see attitude – if you traverse the forums or facebook groups about cars, you will see how many people were in wait & see mode for new Proton’s future models – some existing owners of new Persona even advising potential buyers to wait until “new turbo persona” is ready. Amusing! but this hurts Proton sales so badly.
2. No exports – this is perhaps Proton’s most serious problem and the one that puts Proton into this mess. They were too little too late to come out with new engines that meet newer emission regulation imposed in Europe and elsewhere. Instead of sourcing engines from other carmarkers, they chose to built their own. These engines will not be fully ready until next year. Yes, 2018! Can you see how much loss Proton has incurred from this?
Proton was absent from important markets such as the UK for almost 7 years. Since Preve until now, none of these cars were exported there. This long hiatus is a tragedy that makes Proton a sinking ship.
As a Malaysian, I feel very sad with incompetency that plagued Proton’s administration for years. Perhaps the Pak Cik who runs small Kedai Runcit in my neighbourhood area has better business acuity that those top executives in Proton.
The French President probably realize that even if they secure Proton, they wouldn’t even manage to sell Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel or Vauxhall at a low and competitive price since the tax for building and selling one is such a kill off, and could lead to sale loss due to the high price tag.
Sell it to perodua, solve the whole matter.and we will have all the toyota cars to be rebadged as proton
LoL… told ya it’s just the tip of iceberg.
Proton losses should be covered by its owner aka DRB. DRB so successful with Honda cars until it overtake Proton but unable to do the same for Proton. Is this on purpose?
I said it many times. DRB book haven’t shown any losses from Proton despite 51% equity. So you have to expect more bailouts. When making losses, Rakyat tanggung, but if Proton turnaround, any profit for Rakyat? LoL…
Dont want to talk too much… crony will get support especially when election is near. Close one eye…
Goddamn company, all its done is milk the rakyats money and produce substandard crap the past 20 years.
DRBHICOM & major shareholder TS Syed Mokhtar should call for a rights issue or take a massive sukuk loan. Why must the government get involved in the funding of this company that was taken private ?
Reason why P1 was taken private was to hide the mess they were in.
So if you are unable to sustain this company then just shelve it.
See what UMW did to UMWOG.
Shameless management of P1 . Please step down cos you are responsible for this massive loss. Time to ship out the current management ASAP as they are of no use & failed in running P1.
P1 should just rebadged P2 cars.
Shah Alam plant sudah gadai for 1.5 bil .
Next is their prized asset at Tg Malim.
By the time a new stakeholder is chosen,
Proton will be sold for £1 ( higher valuation than MV Agusta at €1 ) cos its just an empty shell after being milked dry kow2x by its current owners. Bercukurlah !!
MACC is sleeping! Logic already tell, something very wrong in P1.
Lets do simple calculation:
Softloan of 1.5B mean RM 1,500,000,000.00
P1 produce around 100,000 car a year.
RM1.426 billion net loss it reported in FY2016 ending March 31, mean almost all RM 1.5B gone!
1,500,000,000.00/ 100,000 = RM 10,000 per car!
Proton major market share is Saga, which is less than RM40K.
who can a company loss RM10K a car for RM40K car? make sense? Industries standard, one car generate less than 10% profit, but Proton can loss 25% !
What is this nonsense?
Proton workers are like government workers, you know I know-lah.
Judging from the comments, i belip most pipu here are unpatriotic
There will be no strategic partner announce in may. They wont sell proton and your government will take back the rust bucket and u guys pay them all. Proton once gov again!!