Autoblog

The Malaysian government has decided to end its protection of Malaysia's Proton Motors. In addition to the import duties and taxes levied against foreign carmakers, Proton was also the recipient of tax breaks and "other government incentives."

The decision could be seen as a blow to Proton, but Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is confident that the carmaker can and is turning itself around. Even though it has lost half of its market share while it was being protected by the government, Badawi said recently "No question of a bailing out. Proton is doing well today... they have a good program, they have secured exports to India, China, Indonesia and the Middle East."

For it's part, Proton's efforts to link up with a foreign car company didn't end well last year. For the moment, it has proposed that the government take an official stake in the company.

[Source: InsideLine]

click above for high-res gallery of the Proton R3 Satria

Malaysian automaker Proton will offer up a teaser of its next-generation hot hatchback when it shows the R3 Satria, a performance variant of the Satria Neo, at the Melbourne Motor Show next week. R3 is Satria's in-house performace wing -- headed by a former Lotus engineer -- and the nomenclature stands for "Race, Rally, and Research." The previous R3 Satria was a single-class racer based on the last-gen Satria, but this R3 Satria appears to be positioned as the spiritual successor to the original Satria GTi road car.

The GTi (right) was Lotus-tuned and made over 130 horsepower, and while Proton's not ready to talk specs yet, the new R3 Satria should likewise have a definitive edge over its standard counterpart when it arrives in the marketplace. It certainly seems to have the hot-hatch looks requirements down (see above), with its aggressive front air dam, skirting, roof spoiler, stripe package, center-exit exhaust, and wheel/tire package. Spiffy.


[Source: zerotohundred.com]

According to a report by Reuters, a Malaysian company has approached Proton Holdings and asked if the automaker would be willing to part with its controlling stake in Lotus. The unnamed company is interested in purchasing the 63.75-percent of shares of the British automaker and automotive consultancy firm that Proton purchased back in 1996.

It's certainly not coincidental that this offer came in a few weeks after Proton and Volkswagen ended talks about a possible alliance, causing Proton's stock to drop by some 18-percent. Although the financial windfall gained by Proton may be beneficial in the short-term, the Malaysian automaker is dependent on Lotus' technological innovations for future products. We doubt anything will come of it, but we're curious as to what company made the offer and how it would benefit from the purchase.

[Source: Reuters, InsideLine]

After several months of discussions with the Malaysian government about working with Proton, Volkswagen has decided to call it quits. The Malaysian government is the largest shareholder in the local company that also owns Lotus. Lotus has been doing fairly well of late thanks to their continuing engineering work for many of the worlds automakers, and the ongoing success of the Elise lineup. Proton however has been struggling and was seeking a more well heeled partner to work with. For the foreseeable future Volkswagen appears to be out the picture.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Late last year reports first surfaced that Volkswagen was interested in taking a controlling interest in Malaysian car maker Proton. But by March the talks had apparently broken down. Now for the first time Volkswagen has actually made a statement about Proton.

Volkswagen is picking up the pace in talks with the Malaysian government who happens to be Proton's controlling shareholder. VW officials will meet with government officials in the coming weeks about how to proceed. The result could be either a takeover or just a partnership.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Contrary to a report that surfaced Monday, Lotus has no intention of partnering with the Malaysian state-owned automaker, Proton, to build cars in China. This announcement debunks what Jinhua Neoplan has asserted throughout a number of articles in the Chinese press – including the state-supported China Daily.

The e-mail, which was apparently sent to Lotus staff, makes it clear that no vehicles will be produced in China, nor are there any plans to do so within the next five years. The email goes on to say that such reports "could affect staff morale or performance" and that, "in the future please treat such press comments with the scepticism (sic) they deserve."

Moving on...

[Source: Inside Line]

The guys over at China Car Times are super-stoked over news that Proton has inked a deal that will see the Lotus Europa built in China.

According to a China Daily report, Proton is working with its Chinese partner, Jinhua Neoplan Vehicle Co., to produce for Proton the Europa and a four-door sedan based on Proton's Gen-2.

Jinhua Neoplan has until now manufactured buses, but in its new partnership will build as many as 150,000 cars for both the Chinese market and for export. Inside Line even goes so far as to predict future Chinese-built Lotus vehicles being sold in the U.S.

[Sources: China Daily, China Car Times, Inside Line]

Poor Lotus is the orphan child of the automotive industry. The small British sportscar maker has bounced around owners so often, it would make your head spin trying to connect the dots. After company founder Colin Chapman tragically died in 1982, the company has been bought and sold by General Motors, erstwhile Bugatti entrepreneur Romano Artioli, and currently by Malaysian state-owned automaker Proton. Like GM and Bugatti before it, Proton has failed to capitalize on the Lotus name and is reportedly looking to offload it to an interested third party.

Next up to the plate is Spyker, the independent Dutch exotic carmaker that seems to always be looking for a way to up its prestige. Apparently purchasing a Formula One team – from Midland steel, who had failed to make a go of it – was not enough for Spyker. Having stated its interest in acquiring another prestigious mark, Spyker is now reportedly looking to buy Lotus.

The partnership would be utilized in bringing the upcoming D12 "super sport utility vehicle" to market, as well as future Spyker models, and part of production would shift to England as a result. That part makes enough sense, as Lotus has a long history of engineering consulting for a wide range of automakers. But what makes Spyker think it's got more fortune (in terms of cash and good luck) than General Motors, the Italian mafia (allegedly) and the Malaysian state government is beyond us.

Thanks for the tip, Sjoerd!

[Source: AutoWeek.nl]

Looks like the talks between Proton and Volkswagen aren't going as well as they could... again. Both companies have said that talks are continuing, but The Edge business newspaper is reporting that no agreement appears likely in the near future. They reported that VW has been "less keen" about the deal lately. The first round of deal breaking news came in December but things appeared to be back on track since then. Seems like there have been a lot of delays in the negotiations, fueling rumors of some discord, even though VW has already signed their letter of intent to purchase 51% of the company.

The deal itself involves the manufacturing part of Proton, which is Malayasian owned. VW is looking for additional production capacity for its Passat sedan to help with Japanese exports. Malayasian built Passats would avoid the Japanese tariffs because of a free trade agreement between these two countries. And even better news for Volkswagen is the fact that Malaysia is also working on free trade deals with Australia and the U.S. So they could also increase manufacturing there in the future for export to those markets as well.

Other companies are still showing interest in Proton, including three Malaysian firms. Some industry insiders even say GM is going to throw its hat into the ring. Another automaker that had been involved in the bidding was PSA Peugeot Citroën, but it has announced that it's no longer interested.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Motor Authority came across an article in XFN-Asia that says VW won the bidding contest for controlling stake of Malaysia's Proton. Although the report is light on details, it seems that a source who was privy to the deal confirmed that Volkswagen will be purchasing the required 51-percent of Proton's manufacturing arm and that an official statement will be released on February 8th.

If the source is to be trusted, that means that both GM and PSA Peugeot-Citroen were ousted from the runnings, which is little surprise, as VW has had a long standing relationship with the state-owned automaker.

[Source: Motor Authority]