GM has thrown its hat into the ring, along with VW and PSA Peugeot Citroen, to purchase floundering Malaysian carmaker Proton. Over the past three months, Proton has lost 250.3 million ringgit (or about $71.5 m US) due to increased competition from Malaysian-based Perodua Motors and Naza automakers.
The state-owned carmaker has met with GM officials over the past few months and it's expected that a bid for Proton could be made sometime this month. If General Motors would purchase a controlling stake in the foreign automaker, they would have control over both Proton's holdings and manufacturing capacity.
Since Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroen are the preferred bidders, the chances of GM making a winning bid are up in the air. But GM's clout in the marketplace may be to the advantage of Proton, as an executive told one daily newspaper that GM may help Proton build a car for the U.S. market in five years. If that's the case, we'd like to see Proton's relationship with Lotus exploited to our benefit on these shores.
[Source: Business Week]
The state-owned carmaker has met with GM officials over the past few months and it's expected that a bid for Proton could be made sometime this month. If General Motors would purchase a controlling stake in the foreign automaker, they would have control over both Proton's holdings and manufacturing capacity.
Since Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroen are the preferred bidders, the chances of GM making a winning bid are up in the air. But GM's clout in the marketplace may be to the advantage of Proton, as an executive told one daily newspaper that GM may help Proton build a car for the U.S. market in five years. If that's the case, we'd like to see Proton's relationship with Lotus exploited to our benefit on these shores.
[Source: Business Week]
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