Proton looking to offer a hybrid in 2 to 3 years

Proton, the Malaysian state-owned automaker which also owns Lotus, is currently working on a hybrid vehicle which it hopes to bring to market in two to three years. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has already driven the car, and he's pushing Proton to get it ready as quickly as possible. Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Managing Director at Proton, says, "It is too early to talk of introducing a hybrid car in the local market. I can only say that we are looking at this possibility in two to three years time before we go into mass production." Although the Malaysian government would like to see the automaker act, the fact is that Proton doesn't quite have the know-how in-house to get the job done properly, especially with lithium ion batteries. For that reason, the automaker has contacted Bosch for assistance in getting its first hybrid model out the door.
[Sources: Bernama.com, AFP via Yahoo]