A new man to drive Proton

PETALING JAYA: China’s Dr Li Chunrong (pic) takes over as the first non-Malaysian to head Proton Holdings Bhd’s manufacturing arm on Monday, with a promise to draw up a recovery roadmap for the company within 10 weeks.

If he has his way, the Proton brand will regain its glory days in five years and the car manufacturer will return to profitability in three to five years.

Within 10 years, Proton will be restored to being the best-selling brand within Malaysia and a top three Asean brand, said Dr Li.

Speaking at a joint press conference by Proton’s parent company DRB-Hicom Bhd and Chinese automotive company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group yesterday, Dr Li said he was looking forward to the challenge that has been laid out for him.

“I was nominated by both DRB-Hicom and Geely to turn Proton around and I believe the Malaysian car brand will soon be the number one domestic brand and a leading Asean brand,” he said.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has acquired a 49.9% stake in Proton for RM460.3mil.

Dr Li brings with him 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, having worked with international brands such as Honda, Kia and Dongfeng, in various high level roles.

He will also be instrumental in working on jointly-developed vehicles for Proton, estimated to be rolled out in the next three to four years, the typical time fra ame for a car model to be developed from d design stage to market.

The first new product will beb a mid-sized SUV, slated for launch at the endd of next year, marking Proton’s entry int to the SUV automotive segment.

Geely will also provide supp port for Proton to come up with hyb brid and electric cars as the nation nal car maker plans to move up p from fossil fuel cars to plug-in n hybrid and full electric vehicles. For the full report, See Page 3 of BIZWEEK