Proton-Geely partnership – definitive agreement inked

Proton-Geely partnership – definitive agreement inked

The Proton-Geely strategic partnership has officially begun. Earlier this morning, DRB-Hicom and Zhejiang Geely (ZGH) signed the definitive agreement for the Chinese carmaker to acquire a 49.9% equity stake in Proton.

The deal was formally inked in Kuala Lumpur by DRB-Hicom group MD Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar and ZGH president An Conghui, witnessed by prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and ZGH chairman Li Shufu. The signing today took place exactly 30 days after an initial agreement on the deal was made in Putrajaya.

It was announced at the event that the aspects of the partnership will include Proton being the manufacturing hub for Geely’s right-hand drive (RHD) models. The national carmaker will also have access to ZGH’s products, platforms and technologies. There will also be the opportunity for cross-pollination of talent with the Chinese carmaker’s global engineering centres.

All this will provide Proton with the ability to access markets beyond Malaysia, with South-East Asia and China being markets mentioned. According to Syed Faisal, local vendors who meet standards will be involved in Geely’s global network. He added that Proton will be able to assemble Volvo cars at its Tanjung Malim plant if there is excess capacity.

Proton-Geely partnership – definitive agreement inked

Najib expressed his confidence that in ZGH, DRB-Hicom has found a partner that has the ability, expertise and ambition to take Proton to new levels of success and a secure future.

“Geely is a company with the right credentials, committed leadership, and a proven track record. The new partnership between DRB-Hicom and Geely could well see Proton become one of the leading carmakers in South-East Asia and one of Malaysia’s great exports to the region,” he said in his speech at the event.

“That would represent a win for Proton, for the owners, for the Malaysian economy, and for the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who would benefit as a result,” he added.

Li was also positive on the agreement, and expressed his hope that the cooperation will yield success. “We hope that through our cooperation with DRB-Hicom, Proton will be transformed into the No. 1 independent automobile brand in Malaysia and one of the top three in South-East Asia,” he said.

Proton-Geely partnership – definitive agreement inked

The signing of the definitive agreement today also saw DRB-Hicom concluding its 100% sale of Lotus Advance Technology to ZGH and Etika Automotive, with ZGH acquiring a 51% majority stake in the British sports car maker. In May, DRB-Hicom had announced that it was selling its entire stake in Lotus, exiting the sports car business completely.

Li said that for Lotus, ZGH will increase new product launches and capacity to fully release the brand’s appeal. He added that Proton and Lotus will create synergies for ZGH to position itself as a major player in the ASEAN market.

The Geely Boyue – which will provide the basis for the partnership’s first model- was showcased at the signing ceremony today – details and images of the SUV here. Also on show at the event was the updated and enhanced Proton Exora MPV, featuring lightly revised aesthetics and equipment.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • tokmoh. on Jun 23, 2017 at 11:48 am

    Proton ke arah kuasa besar dunia!

    Geely > all
    Proton > all

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 5
  • YB Kunta Kinte on Jun 23, 2017 at 11:55 am

    They most important question is this. What will Proton do when Geely says it wants to use its own vendors and suppliers for Proton cars in Malaysia?

    Geely will get a shock of their lives when they see Abang Sdn Bhd supplying nuts and screws to Proton for RM100 per screw which Abang Sdn Bhd buys from Ah Chong Sdn Bhd for RM1

    For sure Geely will say, they rather buy from Ah Chong Sdn Bhd directly for RM1.

    What will Proton do? Until today even all powerful DRB and all powerful Syed Mokhtar could not even change one single vendor and supplier of Proton.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 81 Thumb down 5
    • Tanjung Malim today work super hard, no teh tarik 8x a day, no lepak, no rilaks, no looking at awek kilang etc.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 16 Thumb down 0
      • YB Kunta Kinte on Jun 23, 2017 at 4:40 pm

        Proton’s biggest problem is their vendors and suppliers. This will arise to be the biggest problem for Geely to face. Chinaman always want to do business efficiently and make biggest margin.

        Unfortunately, when Proton was created, it was also created to benefit cronies and crooks.

        Until today, Proton’s bad name has come from its low quality parts supplied by its vendors and suppliers. These suppliers and vendors are ALL cronies or now, the sons and wives of existing politicians or ex- politicians. And 30 years have passed and they are still the same suppliers to Proton.

        They overcharge Proton 10x whilst giving these super low quality parts to Proton. This is why, in the Proton car, things always fall apart after few years.

        Now, 30 years later, despite even losing RM4 mil per day and having low sales and demand due to quality issues, Proton refuses to even change a single vendor or supplier. They still supply every single part to Proton.

        How is Geely going to handle this? They can be financially strong but they are in no match to lawan cronies and politicians in Malaysia who still want the same suppliers and vendors to supply Proton for they are actually the “owners”

        Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 53 Thumb down 0
  • Albert on Jun 23, 2017 at 12:51 pm

    Finally,….hopefully the end of taxdollar bailout is in sight.
    At the same time,jobs…jobs …jobs are at stake.The deadwood and excess fat are ripe for chopping,definitely.
    Make no mistake,Geely will become gila when staff refuse to buck up and toe the line.
    Donald trump’s “YOU ARE FIRED” will be very biasa.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
    • YB Kunta Kinte on Jun 23, 2017 at 5:04 pm

      My advice to Proton, better buck up. Geely will not tolerate lepak, rilaks and minum teh 8x a day attitude. Already Proton plant got big tuang problem. Workers hardly turn up for work.

      Infact, Geely will eventually bring in mainland workers as they own 49.9% of Proton and they are entitled to replace half the workforce.

      These workers from mainland don’t even take a break. Non stop they work like machines. Highly focused. Geely knows this will 10 fold productivity of Proton plant.

      Proton better wake up. For Geely, RM170 million is small kacang puteh money for them. Last year they made USD$30 billion (RM135 billion). In 2015 and 2014, they made USD26 billion and USD24 billion

      If they get fed up, they won’t hesitate to pack up and leave. Rm170 million is small change for them.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 42 Thumb down 2
      • $30bil? Their total sales is only $3.3b dude..

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 14
      • carlovers on Jun 24, 2017 at 2:52 am

        where did you get the facts ?even toyota not making a huge profit like that.pls spread the real and true facts.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 7
      • YB Kunta Kinte on Jun 24, 2017 at 8:38 pm

        Proton announced this fast last month in their press release. Google it.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Middle Age Driver (Member) on Jun 23, 2017 at 1:07 pm

    Very good news indeed. All the hopeless vendors that produce sub-quality parts like the famous power window mechanism can all tutup shop….or they buck up & be more serius in the automotive business.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Sama L00 on Jun 23, 2017 at 1:52 pm

    Sell Sell Sell… There is a melayu terms for these activity called “lelong”.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 3
  • Aero (Member) on Jun 23, 2017 at 2:22 pm

    Congrats to Proton and Geely on the official signing !

    In the last few weeks, I’m sure many have done their research and did some soul-searching on the Proton-Geely partnership… myself included. Actually, I was one of the sceptics… although Geely is a good company, I felt they weren’t the right one for Proton.

    But over the past few weeks, my perspective on Geely has changed quite a bit… enough for me to admit that I was wrong to doubt Geely. In fact, I think they’re the best partner and best chance Proton will ever get to survive (and prosper ?) in the coming decades.

    Still, there will be those who are apprehensive and uncomfortable with the fact that Geely is a car company from China, and whatever connotations that carries. It will be up to Geely to lay these worries to rest. Personally, even before this partnership, I had the impression that Geely is ‘not your usual China car company’. No doubt, Geely is of the best among the 100+ Chinese car companies.

    As some media have pointed out, Geely is not exactly state-sponsored, in fact, Geely’s chairman has been quite vocal of the China government’s (discriminatory) auto policy. And being an independent company, Geely doesn’t benefit from the same state/government backing which most other China car companies get. As well, Geely is run by a bold, entrepreneurial man, who has earned a good name for himself both locally and abroad for his success in turning around Volvo in just a few short years. Even the name ‘Geely’ translates to ‘lucky’ in Mandarin.

    Another way to look at it would be… that if Geely were a state in Malaysia, they would be Penang or Selangor state. If you can make the connection, you will know what I mean.

    Anyway, having said that, I am still cautiously optimistic on the Proton-Geely partnership. It is still early days. It would be best not to ‘buy into the hype’, and instead take things as they come.

    In the past (2012/13), I used to be overly-optimistic about Proton’s promises for the future and their new models… only to be utterly disappointed because Proton never truly lived up to their promises (ask any early-batch Prevé owner, they’ll tell you why).

    I will not make that same mistake again, no more gambling with promises. Nowadays, I much prefer to let Proton’s actions and models speak for themselves. And no doubt, the new Persona especially has impressed me the most, partly because I was not expecting too much this time around. For the same reasons, I won’t over-expect anything from the Proton-Geely partnership… no need for no.3 in ASEAN or no.1 in Malaysia etc.., if Proton can do well for themselves and return to profitability, that would be a huge deal already. One, right, sure-footed step at a time.

    A new chapter begins in Proton’s 34-year-old story. I’m sure many are looking forward to see what it holds ! Godspeed, congrats and best wishes once again to Proton and Geely, as well as Lotus, Volvo and DRB-HICOM.

    P.S. Also… I think it’s time for me to learn some Mandarin. haha

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 2
    • tokmoh. on Jun 23, 2017 at 4:12 pm

      Ah, i see you’re a man of culture as well. Welcome, my brother, you have finally seen the light.

      Proton jia you!
      Geely jia you!
      Lotus jia you!
      Volvo jia you!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
      • dodgeviper88 on Jun 23, 2017 at 4:57 pm

        Change will not come if we wait for some other
        person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting…Geely Proton jia yo Ubah!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Burong on Jun 23, 2017 at 2:39 pm

    So Proton is no longer Malaysia company, but China company owned. Proton car is only made in Malaysia, but owned by China.

    If you like to buy kereta buatan Malaysia, buy Mercedes, Honda is ok.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
  • fanofthisite on Jun 23, 2017 at 2:46 pm

    Paultan , any intel on what will be the strategy / life cycle plan for the existing Proton developed models and plans for the new gen power plants that’s been reported. Will there be Proton developed cars based on Geely sourced platforms or is Geely model range picks suitable for Proton’s target market segment. Are Geely cars safety rating comparable to Protons? Would appreciate Paultan.org opining more and not just reporting news . I have been gradually losing interest in your site as I feel its lost the dynamism and novelty of your earlier years

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
    • tokmoh. on Jun 23, 2017 at 4:15 pm

      Geely owns Volvo, and many of Volvo’s personnel moved to Geely, including chief designer Peter Horbury.

      The Boyue is among their latest models, it has Adaptive Cruise Control, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, etc.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Personaian on Jun 23, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    I hopes they will bring in some advanced technologies and improves the proton cars. Proton reputations maybe bad but it’s not a lousy car at all with the price u paying. Sorry im a poor guy who can only afford local cars and i assumes ton is better than dua.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • oh mak lu on Jun 23, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    So next, when is PM going to handover Malaysia to Chinese hands? Sekarang Proton sudah jadi china punya…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • The smallest information carries big awareness. Lotus was bargaining chip. smart bukhary & geely. wake up dumb dumb malaysians

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • policeman on Jun 23, 2017 at 5:28 pm

    As usual got to be assisted by Chinese.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Raw mean war on Jun 24, 2017 at 12:30 am

    How you can manage your own country when you can’t managr to handle national’s car company? What a disguise r…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Shahdude on Jun 24, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Ok la. Next question which pocket will the money go?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Mig29ria on Jun 25, 2017 at 10:12 am

    Proton is no more the car company. Only the brand or badge own by Geely and DRB Hicom. This is similar the business model that run by DRB Hicom for other subsidiaries i.e. Honda, TATA, etc locally. Good to make quick money.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • Korean Fan on Aug 20, 2018 at 8:37 am

    Thank you for putting up the picture of Najib. We are living in the age where some poeple love to steal the credit of others.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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