Strategic Partner Critical For Proton

Strategic Partner Critical For Proton

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- It is critical for national carmaker, Proton Holdings Bhd, to get a strategic partner in order for it to grow further especially in terms of volume.

"It is critical for Proton to get a strategic partner or multiple alliances probably by the next 18-24 months or the earliest possible," Frost & Sullivan partner and head of the automotive and transportation practice for Asia Pacific, Kavan Mukhtyar said.

He said Proton's biggest challenge was its volume which was currently much concentrated in Malaysia.

"As it aspires to go global, it needs partners that can give it an access into new markets, give the volume it needs as well as new technology," he told a media briefing on Automotive Industry's outlook for 2010 here on Thursday.

Mukhtyar said it would also give Proton the economies of scale, which would help it increase profit and reduce cost.

"I think currently the stumbling block is the commercial terms of the agreement," he said.

-- BERNAMA