Target to turn around Proton in 5 years
SHAH ALAM: DRB-Hicom Bhd, which named China national Li Chunrong as the new CEO for Proton Holding Bhd’s manufacturing arm Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (PONSB), aims to turn around the loss-making national carmaker within the next five years.
“The first five years is the key. We want to turn (Proton) into profitability in the first five years. Certainly next year cannot be (profitable), but the third and fourth year is where we’re looking to break even,” DRB-Hicom group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar said at a media briefing here last Friday.
Proton finally secured China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co as its foreign strategic partner in order to revive its business and the goal of becoming one of the top three carmakers in Asean within the next 10 years.
The first model that comes under the collaboration with Geely – Boyue – is expected to be launched in Malaysia by end of 2018. Geely launched Boyue, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) under the C segment, back in March 2016, which is one of its best-selling models.
On why it takes so long before the launch, Syed Faisal explained that it is due to more time needed for the conversion from left-hand to right-hand drive.
“Besides that, we need to list down the details for the CKD (completely knocked-down) programme, it’s not just about bringing the car in,” he said, noting it generally takes three to four years to develop a car model.
Nonetheless, newly-appointed PONSB CEO Chunrong said the group is planning to bring in a new car model every year after the launch of Boyue.
Chunrong’s appointment was made following the departure of Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali on Sept 30.
“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.
Syed Faisal explained, the appointment was not made at the Proton group level, because the group wanted the management to “get closer” to its production unit.
At the Proton level, Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar remains the chairman and he is joined on the board by Shaharul Farez Hassan and Amalanathan Thomas as nominees from DRB-Hicom.
Meanwhile, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd has nominated executive vice-president and CFO Daniel Donghui Li and Hong Konglisted Geely Auto group vice-president and chief technology officer Feng Qing Feng as nominees to the Proton board.