‘ASEAN, CHINA WITHIN REACH FOR PROTON’
National carmaker will be able to produce quality cars at lower prices with Geely tie-up, says geo-strategist
KUALA LUMPUR
THE Asean countries and China are now within reach for Proton to market its cars, following its recent strategic partnership deal with China’s Geely Holding Group Co Ltd, said geostrategist Dr Azmi Hassan, who is attached to a local university.
“One thing is clear from the start, Geely is aiming for the global market as this has been its business model all along. To begin with, Malaysia is well on its way to becoming the gateway to the Asean market” he said yesterday.
In Geely, which among others fully owned Volvo, the Malaysian national carmaker could not have asked for a better partner, Azmi added.
He agreed with views that going into partnership with Geely in facing the highly competitive world car market was the best thing to have happened to Proton Holdings Bhd in its entire history.
DRB-HICOM Bhd group managing director Datuk Seri Faisal Albar said recently that Geely had proved to be a committed partner in all its ventures, helping each of the companies that it acquired a stake to turn around with appropriate levels of financial investments plus a heavy dose of injection in technology and innovation.
Azmi said in the car manufacturing business, it did not make any sense for a player to go it alone and this was particularly so for Proton, which had all along been struggling to make ends meet by selling cars mainly to the domestic market.
“To let Proton to continue selling only for the domestic market will only lead to its demise. It’s critical that it is able to capture the Asean market, especially now that tariff barriers within the region have been removed. I can see that Geely is aiming to establish its footprints in Asean via Proton,” he said.
Azmi described Asean, with some 600 million people, as a fast-growing car market and with Geely, which made one million cars annually globally, Proton would also be able to produce quality cars at lower prices, thanks to economies of scale.
“As a Malaysian, I, too, consider myself as having a stake in Proton and I see Geely’s business model as very fitting for Malaysians who regard Proton as our national icon,” he said. Bernama