1159# dune1989 kawan hang tu sapa? bekas enginer proton ? ceo ? atau mat gebang kosong kat kedai kopi tu?
cecari Post at 12-9-2009 02:23 AM
budak serumah teman,
mentang2 teman baru dalam arena jalan raya (baru dapat lesen kereta dan motor tahun lepas),
dia ingat teman tak ambil tahu ke pasal kenderaan ni,
panas tul,
hu4
aku bukan nak merendahkan Proton. Tapi sendiri mau ingat la.. Qualiti haprak. Dah la tu.. jual kat malaysia bukan main mahal.. kalau eksport tu quality ada ..harga lagi murah.. aku rasa macam kena tipu la.. So.. aku ambil kesimpulan.. "boleh blah dengan proton.." Nak selamat kan Proton.. tapi apa yang Proton buat untuk kita...? Lu pk la ... Cerita lama...
aku bukan nak merendahkan Proton. Tapi sendiri mau ingat la.. Qualiti haprak. Dah la tu.. jual kat malaysia bukan main mahal.. kalau eksport tu quality ada ..harga lagi murah.. aku rasa macam kena tip ...
Excalibre_7 Post at 13-9-2009 03:15 AM
rasa skang nih dengan pimpinan baru lebih baik la tuh,
harap kualiti skang lebih baik,
insyaAllah..
NORWICH, (United Kingdom), Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Group Lotus plc, a subsidiary of Proton Holdings Bhd, today welcomed the visit by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah to its headquarters here.
Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah arrived by helicopter at the Lotus test track.
On hand to greet the royal couple were Proton Holdings Bhd/Lotus chairman, Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, Proton managing director, Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, and Group Lotus' chief executive officer, Dany Taner Bahar.
Also present were Her Majesty The Queen of England's Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Richard Jewson and the Malaysian High Commissioner to UK, Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohammed.
Proton and Lotus were also honoured to have the King and Queen unveiled the Proton Higher Performance Engine, a new high-torque pressure-charged engine to support future product introductions.
The engine, developed in collaboration between Proton and Lotus Engineering and with active involvement of Malaysian engineers and vendors, boasts an improved rate of emission and performance quality.
The royal couple spent the morning admiring the various exhibits of Lotus cars including a briefing on classic Lotus cars by Clive Chapman, the son of Lotus founder, Colin Chapman.
Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah toured the Lotus car assembly line, and were briefed on the latest Lotus Design projects.
Meanwhile, Tuanku Mizan also drove the award-winning Lotus Evora as well as the Tesla and Exige models.
"It is an honour to have Their Majesties' presence at the Lotus facility and this is indeed a meaningful occasion for all of us.
"I am certain it will definitely inspire us to further strive and work harder in bringing Lotus to greater global prominence and in realising Proton's vision to become Asia's premier automotive company," he said.
Mohd Nadzmi said with Lotus' proven strength in producing iconic cars such as the Elite, Europa, Esprit, Elise and Evora, the decision to acquire Lotus in 1996 obviously has been proven to be a good one.
"The acquisition was also important as it has changed the future of Proton as a car manufacturer," he said.
Proton's High Performance Engine To Be Ready By 2011
By Mahanum Abdul Aziz
NORWIRCH (United Kingdom), Oct 2 (Bernama) -- Proton Holdings Bhd expects its new high-torque pressure-charged performance engine to be ready by 2011.
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd's Engineering Division Director Tajul Zahari Abu Bakar said Proton was developing the engine in collaboration with Lotus Engineering with the active involvement of Malaysian engineers and vendors.
" Fifty per cent of the special components of the engine is supplied and developed together with Malaysian suppliers," he told Malaysian reporters in Norwirch today.
He added that the objective of this engine development was basically to improve its capability as well as facilitate the transfer of technology to Proton and Malaysian suppliers.
Saying that 70 engineers were involved in the engine development, Tajul Zahari added the performance of the 1,600 cc engine was equivalent to that of a 2,000 cc engine.
The engine promises a high torque for enhanced driveability with improved economy, performance and emissions, he added.
Tajul Zahari said the engine, which was launched by Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin here on Friday, has been tested under all weather conditions and is compatible with the RON 95 and RON 97 fuel.
He said the engine, designed to have reduced emission level, low maintenance as well as better service ability, would be fitted in Proton's export models.
NORWIRCH (United Kingdom), 2 Okt (Bernama) — Proton Holdings Bhd menjangka enjin menggunakan alat pemampat tekanan kilas tinggi baru, enjin Berprestasi Lebih Tinggi Proton, akan siap pada 2011. Pengarah bahagian kejuruteraan Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd, Ir Tajul Zahari Abu Bakar berkata enjin berkenaan dibangunkan dengan kerjasama Proton dan Lotus Engineering, dengan penglibatan aktif jurutera dan vendor Malaysia.
“Daripada pelbagai bahagian unit atau bahagian khas enjin, 50 peratus komponen secara asasnya dibekalkan dan dimajukan bersama-sama dengan pembekal Malaysia,” katanya kepada wartawan Malaysia pada taklimat media mengenai enjin berkenaan di sini pada Khamis. “Ini merupakan aktiviti penting kerana objektif pembangunan enjin ini pada dasarnya untuk menambah baik enjin serta pemindahan teknologi untuk Proton serta pembekal Malaysia,” jelas beliau sambil menambah bahawa kira-kira 70 jurutera terlibat dalam pembangunan enjin.
Tajul Zahari berkata enjin baru itu mempunyai kapasiti 1,600 cc dan prestasinya bersamaan dengan enjin 2,000 cc. Engin berkenaan menjanjikan pemanduan hebat dengan ekonomi, prestasi dan pelepasan asap yang dipertingkatkan, katanya. Beliau berkata enjin berkenaan yang dilancarkan oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin di sini hari ini telah diuji dalam semua keadaan cuaca dan ia sesuai untuk sebarang gred bahan api termasuk RON 95 dan RON 97.
Tajul Zahari berkata enjin itu juga akan digunakan untuk model kereta masa depan Proton serta untuk pasaran eksport. “Selain menghasilkan pelbagai paras pelepasan asap serta perundangan untuk pelbagai pasaran, enjin ini juga direka bentuk bagi memastikan ia mempunyai penyenggaraan rendah serta kemampuan perkhidmatan yang lebih baik. Ini penting untuk menjadikan kos pemilikan kepada pelanggan akan lebih rendah,” katanya.
Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin diberi penerangan oleh Syed Zainal Abidin Syed
Mohamed Tahir berkenaan enjin terbaru berprestasi tinggi selepas berkenan
melancarkan enjin terbaru serta kereta Lotus Evora, Tesla dan Exige di
Norwich, semalam. – Bernama
NORWICH, United Kingdom 2 Okt. – Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin hari ini berkenan melancarkan Enjin Berprestasi Tinggi Proton (EBTP) yang dibangunkan di kilang syarikat pengeluar kereta sport dan lumba, Group Lotus Plc (Lotus) di Hethel di sini.
Projek pembangunan enjin yang mampu menghasilkan kuasa antara 30 hingga 40 peratus lebih tinggi daripada enjin Campro 1.6L bermula awal tahun ini dan dijangka siap dalam tempoh 24 bulan.
Pelancaran itu diadakan sempena lawatan baginda ke kilang berkenaan yang merupakan bekas pangkalan tentera udara Amerika Syarikat ketika Perang Dunia Kedua.
Turut berangkat melawat kilang yang terletak di bahagian timur negara ini di Wilayah Norfolk dengan jarak kira-kira 180 kilometer dari London ialah Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Nur Zahirah.
Ketibaan baginda berdua kira-kira pukul 10.30 pagi (5.30 petang waktu Malaysia) dengan menaiki helikopter yang mendarat di litar ujian kereta syarikat itu disambut oleh Pengerusi Lotus yang juga Pengerusi Proton Holdings Berhad, Datuk Mohd. Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh dan Pengarah Urusan Kumpulan Proton Holdings, Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
Turut hadir Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Lotus yang baru, Dany Taner Bahar; Wakil Ratu England, Leftenan Diraja Norfolk Richard Jewson dan Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Malaysia ke UK, Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohammed.
Dalam ucapan alu-aluan menyambut keberangkatan Seri Paduka ke kilang syarikat berkenaan, Mohd. Nadzmi berkata, lawatan itu akan dapat merangsang semangat kakitangan Lotus untuk berusaha lebih keras dalam memperluaskan keluaran syarikat itu di peringkat global dan menjayakan visi Proton untuk menjadi syarikat automotif utama Asia.
‘‘Lotus sudah membuktikan keupayaannya dalam mengeluarkan beberapa model ikonik seperti Elite, Elan, Europa, Esprit, Elise dan terbaru, Evora, maka keputusan Proton mengambil alih syarikat itu pada tahun 1996 adalah langkah tepat.
‘‘Syarikat ini telah memberikan sumbangan yang banyak kepada pembangunan teknologi dan keupayaan kejuruteraan Proton.
‘‘Dan untuk masa depan kedua-dua syarikat sedang bekerjasama membangunkan kenderaan hibrid dan elektrik serta menghasilkan enjin yang lebih efisien,” ujarnya.
Dalam pada itu, ketika lawatan selama kira-kira tiga jam berkenaan, Tuanku Mizan telah berpeluang mendengar taklimat mengenai pelbagai model klasik yang dihasilkan oleh Lotus yang disampaikan oleh Clive Chapman.
Beliau merupakan anak mendiang Colin Bruce Chapman yang telah mengasaskan syarikat berkenaan pada 1948.
Baginda juga telah melawat dan melihat sendiri proses pemasangan kereta yang dilakukan sepenuhnya dengan menggunakan tangan.
Seri Paduka kemudiannya turut meluangkan masa selama 30 minit untuk memandu uji Lotus Evora, model terbaru syarikat berkenaan yang memenangi pelbagai anugerah, selain model berprestasi tinggi, Exige dan model kenderaan elektrik, Tesla.
His decision to buy Lotus Cars has drawn a fair share of praise and criticism from the motoring world. His tenure in Proton Holdings Bhd has left an everlasting mark that will continue to divide the opinions of Malaysian motorists. According to former Proton CEO Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel, his decision to buy Lotus Cars was done in the greater interest of Proton’s future. A decision that has brought Proton into the world’s spotlight and Malaysia’s into the limelight with the entry of the 1Malaysia Lotus F1 team, making it Lotus’ first appearance in Formula One in 15 years.
The story started at 10am on April 13, 1996, in the Prime Minister’s office. Present were the late Tan Sri Yahya Ahmad, himself and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, then Prime Minister of Malaysia. “There we evaluated how Proton was doing as a car company, as well as our current strategy of rebadging cars,” said Tengku Mahaleel, who was then the vice-chariman of strategy and operations for Proton.
“Mahathir had this vision of the industrial master plan, the first phase involving assembly. However, we discussed about moving on to phase two which involved design and engineering our own cars, which was targeted to be done at the end of 2005. “Imagine we were talking about achieving this second phase nine years ahead of schedule, and I was presenting it to the Prime Minister on the eleventh day on the job.
“We knew that with the current arrangements of rebadging, we were paying – hidden costs and all – to the tune of RM500 million for just one platform. “Then based on our calculations with the additional technical fees, we were paying RM25,000 worth of parts that only cost RM18,000 if we were to make them ourselves. Furthermore, we couldn’t export such products and expect to turn over a profit, as with the then arrangements, Proton’s exports were bleeding the government to death. “The only solution was to create Proton’s own car and engine. What followed next was five minutes of absolute silence. “Then Mahathir turned around and said ‘We will have to make our first car by the year 2000 then’.”
In 1996, the Japanese ranked Proton as 20 per cent capable of producing its own car.Without any hope of drawing support from other companies and four years given to design and build a car of its own, Proton came to two decisions – either work with a consulting firm or enter a joint venture to design a car, or acquire a design and development company. “If we worked with a consulting firm, we could only get designs that were as good as we paid them for. We won’t have full access to the talent and skills behind the design that we need for a sustainable future,” said Tengku Mahaleel. “If we bought a company instead, we will have the rights to all of their engineering skills, blueprints and knowledge we could use to take that leap forward as a car maker.” Tengku Mahaleel had to settle for the second option of company acquisition. Eventually, a list of potential companies were drawn up, including AVL, Cosworth, Pininfarina, Porsche and Lotus. The criteria was an engineering company with the experience in building cars.
Tengku Mahaleel flew down to Germany for a secret meeting with Dr Radman, a representitive from Porsche. “I can remember the conversation, when I asked him if we can have a stake in Porsche, he asked if I had a return ticket, to which I said yes, and his answer was ‘Good, because Porsche is not for sale’,” he said. “That brought Proton to the second choice on the list, Lotus Cars, which in 1996 was up for sale. We then acquired Lotus Cars for a sum of RM503 million, and with that Lotus Proton finally had the expertise, knowledge and engineering drawings to build cars of its own.”
From there, Proton bought an old Mitsubishi platform, and with the help of Lotus engineers, started work on redesigning, modernising and developing the GX41, which would become the Waja. Launched in 2000, right on schedule, the Waja was the first Malaysian-designed car. If one would think that RM503 million was too high a sum, Tengku Mahaleel said that Lotus paid its price through cost-saving in just two years of Proton’s operations.
“When a Campro 1.6 costs RM4,500 per engine and you are paying close to RM6,500 each from a Japanese manufacturer, you can save nearly RM2,000 per engine,” he said. “If you sell 150,000 engines a year, you will be saving the company nearly RM300 million a year. Do the maths and the investment in Lotus would have paid for itself in just two years.”
When asked about Petronas’ own P98 engine, Tengku Mahaleel said: “It was an engineering exercise for Petronas, involving an engine unit from Yamaha. When the P98 costs more than RM18,000 each, with no gears, there isn’t any economies of scale to support it.
“Furthermore, with Lotus’ expertise, we developed our own engine management system which saved us RM400 per unit, which equates to a saving of RM22.57 million in the first year alone.” Tengku Mahaleel said that with subsequent model launches, Proton lowered its development costs through platform and parts sharing.
Input in Lotus extends more than just the current range of Proton cars, with production ready projects like the ‘New Engine Family’, a prototype electric hybrid drivetrain powered by a rotary engine desgined five years ahead of Chevrolet’s Volt, and Proton’s future product range which includes a RM10,000 city car and future all-aluminium Perdana platform, all thanks to knowledge gained from Lotus know-how and technologies.
“Much of the public doesn’t realise that Lotus brought much needed knowledge and expertise to build Proton into what it is today, a proper car manufacturer,” he said. “Recently, the Japanese placed our production capability at 90 per cent in almost every field. “We spent RM500 million acquiring 50 years worth of experience in designing, developing and making engine and chassis, which in itself is impossible to quantify.”
The acquisition of Lotus wasn’t an exercise in branding, nor was it because of Lotus’ racing heritage. Instead, it was a logical decision in order to bring Proton’s production capabilities up and compete in the world stage. Tengku Mahaleel said he doesn’t dwell much on the past, and that he has moved on to take on other positions outside the motoring industry.
TUANKU MIZAN ZAINAL ABIDIN berkenan meletakkan logo Lotus selepas melancarkan enjin Lotus terbaru, sambil diperhatikan Nadzmi (kanan) di kilang Lotus di Norwich, United Kingdom baru-baru ini.
NORWICH, United Kingdom - Pembuat kereta nasional, Proton Holdings Bhd. (Proton) berhasrat meningkatkan jenama Lotus dan mengembalikan kegemilangannya dengan memperkenalkan model kereta baru.
Pengarah Urusan Kumpulan Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir berkata, pada pelancaran Evora, kereta baru pertama Lotus sejak 1995 baru-baru ini merupakan permulaan untuk membawa jenama itu ke tahap lebih tinggi.
"Kami percaya potensi Lotus terletak pada penjenamaan. Jika melihat seluruh dunia, pengiktirafan jenama amat kukuh tetapi kita tidak sampai ke tahap pengiktirafan jenama itu," katanya dalam temu bual dengan media Malaysia sempena lawatan Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin dan Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Nur Zahirah ke kilang Lotus di sini baru- baru ini.
Turut hadir Pengerusi Proton, Datuk Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh.
Selain itu, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan Lotus, Dany Taner Bahar berkata, potensi jenama Lotus terlalu besar dan mempunyai kekuatan dan mempunyai sejarah panjang dalam perlumbaan kereta serta reputasinya sebagai pengeluar kereta sport yang menarik dan inovatif.
"Lotus sebaris dengan Ferrari, Lamborghini dan Maserati pada 1970-an hingga 1990-an. Kemudian ia berdepan dengan masalah. Kami percaya sudah tiba masanya membawa kembali Lotus ke tempat yang sepatutnya," kata beliau.
ape²..kite sbg rakyat malaysia kene support la produk tempatan. asal boleh nk kutuk.
kalo kite xmembela produk tempatan, sape lagi.
mat bangla dgn indon ke?
aku akui bahawa kualiti proton skarang telah meningkat berbanding dulu..
tapi adakah kualiti itu berbaloi dgn harganya...
60k untuk kereta seperti persona se?
kalau keta import yg lain dihapuskan segala cukai yg dikenakan,
anda boleh mendapat kualiti yg lebih baik dgn harga 60k tersebut...
fikir2kan la...
aku akui bahawa kualiti proton skarang telah meningkat berbanding dulu..
tapi adakah kualiti itu berbaloi dgn harganya...
60k untuk kereta seperti persona se?
kalau keta import yg lain dihapuskan s ...
apex Post at 13-10-2009 02:57 AM
promote keta import ke?
itu pun kalau cukai dihapuskan..
kalau dihapuskan harga proton akan turun gak,
sedangkan kereta proton sendiri kena cukai...
kalau cukai dimansuhkan..
both import and local dimansuhkan..
harga proton akan turun..
bile harga jatuh,
proton leh tumpu utk tingkatkan kualiti part2 kereta,
dengan invest lebih,
harga akan naek sket,
but the quality dramatically naik,
perkara ini akan menyamatarafkan kereta import dan local,
as my 2 cents la..
Come January 2010, it will have been four years since Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir took the reins at Proton Holdings Bhd. In his tenure, he has faced many challenges and seen many ups and downs at the automaker.
Brought in to replace Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff in 2006, Syed Zainal had big shoes to fill. The flamboyant Tengku Mahaleel was a dominant personality and had the backing of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is an adviser to Proton.
Syed Zainal was an unknown before he took over as managing director of Proton. Then chairman Datuk Mohamed Azlan Hashim and he managed to remove some of the old hats in Proton and chart new strategies for its growth. In fact, it was Azlan and Syed Zainal who made the final presentation to the Cabinet two years ago when they decided not to take on Volkswagen AG as a strategic investor.
It was a decision that did not go down well with Proton’s major shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
Since then, Azlan’s term as chairman of Proton has ended but Syed Zainal has stayed on at the helm. Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh is now the chairman of Proton.
In a candid interview, Syed Zainal shares some of his thoughts on the company and the route he has charted for it.
The Edge: There has been quite a bit of talk lately about a takeover of Proton. What are your thoughts on this?
Syed Zainal: There are plans that are underway and being implemented. So, regardless of what is in the news, management has done very well in implementing what we think is good for the company.
The plan is something we have spoken about often enough; you know, exports, products, collaboration and so on.
Unfortunately, over the last couple of weeks, the attention that we have been getting has done a lot of damage. For what we want to do, suddenly a rumour came up about a new owner, so everybody is holding back… this kind of thing is not necessarily going to be good.
What we believe is that people should realise, irrespective of what is going on, this is a company that is very solid in terms of what it wants to do; we would like to separate in terms of operations and shareholders.
My only comment on the shareholders is that I believe they will do what’s best for the company, the country and the automotive industry in general.
There has been talk of Proton and DRB-Hicom Bhd doing Volkswagen assembly...
We hope to come out with a solution… at the end of the day, Proton and DRB-Hicom will also benefit. Proton’s wish list is very clear... we want products, we want capacity, we want technology. DRB-Hicom’s wish list involves capacity, so it’s not so difficult.
If you look at the wish lists, they are easy to put together. But what does Volkswagen want? They want a partner that can cement them in Malaysia and provide them a platform for Asean.
So, there will have to be a compromise. For DRB-Hicom, it’s mostly based on assembly, but for Proton, we are also talking about platforms and others. The only thing we [Proton and DRB-Hicom] compete on is capacity… so we can compromise. Basically, a balance will be struck and everyone will come out of the discussion happy.
Will the tie-up with Volkswagen deter Proton from forging alliances with other companies, and could you elaborate on your strategy?
Our agreements are always non-exclusive… but at the end of the day, we cannot be going to bed with so many people. We want a bigger scheme for collaboration. We are inclined to accept technology from any company that can fulfil our wish list. We prefer any company that can give us maximum fulfilment of where we want to go.
For Proton to be relevant, it has to focus on the markets outside... we know we cannot survive on Malaysia alone. We now have to push to Asean and the growing markets like India, China and Iran.
In China, for example, volume for the Gen 2 is 1,000 CKD (completely knocked down) kits a month. We have committed ourselves to Youngman [Automotive Group] for the Gen 2 and the Persona. Also, Youngman is building a new car, a variant engineered by Lotus. Lotus gets about US$20 million for the engineering work. We get the licensing for the platform once the new car rolls out. The new car will also use components carried over from the Gen 2.
When we used Mitsubishi in 1984, we were with the company until 1996. We are doing the same thing here with Youngman. To take Proton to China today, we need to invest RM1.2 billion and spend RM200 million to RM300 million on building a brand, and you don’t know if you will succeed. So far, we have not invested a single sen in China.
Similarly in Iran, they are looking at building a total industry volume of 2.5 million cars. We are willing to share our technology, co-branding or whatever… our technology is brand new, so they don’t have to invest… in return, we only want 10% of the market share… 10% of 2.5 million is 250,000. We are willing to give them our Campro and Lotus platforms.
To be honest, we did talk to Mitsubishi about a global small car, based on existing platforms. We are not competing in their markets, we are not going to Japan… but why don’t we go to India together? My business model is what Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen do in Czechoslovakia. Why can’t we do what Daihatsu, Perodua and Toyota did on the Myvi? But to build that, you need a compromise… you cannot demand everything, so you must give in a little bit, but you get a product that is proven.
You say you didn’t invest a single sen in China. What about Iran and India ?
In Iran, things haven’t reached that stage yet where we have to invest heavily. Eventually, we have to invest, but we are not scared to invest in facilities. We are already investing in jigs for our Gen 2 CKD in Iran. If we think we need to invest, then we will. But obviously we will have to work with the government to invest.
We have been talking about India for a while now… now, we are at the point of choosing a partner.
We have to work with a local partner with strong local expertise, strong localisation expertise, manufacturing base and distribution network. So, we have shortlisted a few and hope to close the deal by this year.
There may be a time lag of a year due to the downturn, but what we have planned for China, India and Iran is very much ongoing. Exporting will take place from these countries. For example, from Iran the cars can be exported to the Middle East. Iran is a left-hand drive market as is China. India is right-hand drive, so we have two homes which are left-hand drive and two which are right-hand drive. Based on the location, we will have to decide where the cars are coming from and whether they are CBU or CKD.
What is the difference between Proton now and when you first came in? When do you see all your plans bearing fruit ?
Now, it is no longer what Proton believes will sell, but what we believe customers want to buy.
So far, the numbers have stacked up. The Saga still sees sales of about 5,500 to 6,000 units a month while the Persona bookings are still about 3,500 to 4,000 a month… so, even two years after we launched, we are still maintaining [the numbers], and now we are rolling all these cars overseas. Same thing with the MPV, the Exora. These are now the cars that we want to push and focus our rebranding activities on.
Three or four years ago, we couldn’t do this as we were relying on old technology, on models that had problems. The market is fixed; we cannot go into a two-door coupé… the market doesn’t want a two-door coupé.
These measures have been approved by the board and implemented in the company. The business model has been fixed, the execution… of course, China is coming in, India by 2010 or 2011... revenue will start kicking in. As for Iran, by early next year, once the negotiation with Saipa (Automotive Manufacturing Group) goes through... So, by 2010, all these will start to bring in revenue.
What is your partnership strategy ?
We now have to develop strategic collaboration… we need to strengthen our quality, our manufacturing, our know-how… this we can’t do ourselves.
We have our core products, other segments we will have to collaborate. It could be as simple as rebranding or rebadging… you may ask, why is Proton doing this? But let’s get realistic. There’s not even one OEM [original equipment manufacturer] that doesn’t do this… even Toyota does it… so, why should we be different? We are not going away from our core value… our core value of building capacity is still there. But why invest half a million in a Perdana? It doesn’t make sense… investments should be in core models… we could tie up with Mitsubishi, could be Volkswagen… it could be anyone who fits our business scheme. Our wish list must be subscribed for. Our wish list is about products, markets and territories.
What are your thoughts on the National Automotive Policy (NAP) ?
For Proton to execute all its plans, we need a very stable environment to operate. The NAP should encourage people to come and invest. We need to encourage people to export, we need to strengthen our dealers, we need to strengthen our vendors, and so the NAP should be structured to execute these. At the same time, encourage FDI [foreign direct investment] to come in… we also understand the government needs to liberalise, but you can liberalise or opt for controlled liberalisation. If you want to be another Thailand, it’s too late in the game. You cannot attract anybody else, so take a different route, attract people like Volkswagen and promote Malaysia as a premium brand in the sector.
When you bring a premium brand, it will bring other premium qualities and initiatives that will benefit our vendors.
The NAP should also encourage high technology, like alternative fuels. There should also be corrections made to the import of used cars and used spare parts. APs [approved permits] can continue but they must be controlled. But with used cars, the government has to be strict. Second-hand parts, for example, should not be allowed at all… we must have a sustainable policy and at the end of the day, Proton will play a prominent role… and I am very strong in saying there should only be one national car.
Do you think it’s time to do away with the national car and non-national car segregation ?
If Toyota wants to make Malaysia its centre, we should encourage it. For Proton, which has invested so much, we shouldn’t be getting the same as the rest. Which country gives the same for a company that invests RM100 million compared to RM2 billion?
What about a tie-up for a new engine ?
We have two options that we have studied; we also want to look at other OEMs. So, we have not decided yet, but we know that technology changes very fast. So, we need a balance between control and technology. Hopefully by next year, we will decide. The Campro will last us until 2014.
When is the move to Tanjung Malim happening ?
The total move to Tanjung Malim will happen in three years. Now, we are operating in three factories and at slightly more than half the capacity. We are duplicating our resources, but the priority earlier on was the product, not the factory. Now, we have a stable product and given a choice, we believe it’s better to shift to one place. And given a choice between Tanjung Malim and Shah Alam, obviously we pick Tanjung Malim.
It’s about putting everything under one roof. It will be better from a logistics, operations, manpower and efficiency standpoint.
Obviously in Shah Alam, we are sitting on very expensive land, which could be utilised better. So, we would like to think that going to Tanjung Malim is a self-funding mechanism. We told the government that for the NAP, we should be like Thailand, where they encourage everyone to go to Rayong.
How many cars do you hope to eventually produce in Tanjung Malim ?
We believe CBU [completely built up] capacity will be 350,000 max. I’ve never said it should be one million. CKD should be in China and India. Now, we are at about an installed capacity of 180,000, but design capacity is about 250,000. So, without much investment, we can beef capacity up to 250,000 and with an investment of RM400 million to RM500 million max, capacity can be expanded by an additional 100,000.
Our 10-year business plan is to produce about 900,000 cars, of which about 300,000 to 350,000 will be produced in Malaysia, about 200,000 to 250,000 in China, 200,000 to 250,000 in India and 200,000 in Iran. All that combined will give you a Proton network of about 900,000 cars.
Previously, people said Proton would invest in one million cars… where do you sell the one million CBUs? Now, we are running at about 200,000 for domestic and export, so we expect to reach 300,000 in two years.
What are the model launches you have in the pipeline ?
Next year will be the Waja replacement launch. Hopefully, if everything goes well, next will be the Perdana. After that will be the Persona, which will be our next generation global car… We will not allow cars to be more than seven years old. Actually, five years is our target. The Persona was launched in 2007, so in 2012, it will be five years old. We need to launch our global car (the new Persona)… it must have a global reach. It will be a symbolic model.
It must compete with the models of Hyundai, Toyota and Honda… we are getting an Italian company to do the styling. You need to think big… I told our chief designer… no offence but for this new Persona, I want the Italians to do the styling. The look must break down barriers. Even the Japanese use it, so why not us ?
This article appeared in The Edge Malaysia, Issue 775, Oct 5-11, 2009.
Post time 12-9-2009 02:23 AM
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