Top Italian car designer killed

Fellow car manufacturers have paid tribute to Mr Pininfarina Andrea Pininfarina, head of a world-famous Italian car design group, has been killed in a road accident. Mr Pininfarina was riding a scooter which was hit by a car on the outskirts of Turin early on Thursday. He was 51. He was chief executive officer of the family firm Pininfarina, which has designed sports cars for Ferrari, Maserati, Volvo and Fiat. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Ferrari’s Luca Cordero di Montezemolo were among those paying tribute. Mr Berlusconi labelled him “the representative of a dynasty that helped bring the story of ‘made in Italy’ to the world”. Mr di Montezemolo, who is also boss of Fiat, said: “Italy, Turin and the Fiat group have lost a business figure who knew how to follow and develop the work of his grandfather Pinin and his father Sergio.” The driver of the car involved in the collision was admitted to hospital suffering from shock, Ansa news agency reported. Family firm Maserati was among the car brands to call on Pininfarina’s expertise Mr Pininfarina, survived by three children, trained as a mechanical engineer. He joined the family business in 1983 after working in the US. He was the grandson of Battista Pininfarina, who founded the firm in Turin in 1930. Andrea’s father Sergio Pininfarina, 81, is the company’s honorary chairman. The family currently controls 55% of Pininfarina’s shares, but under a restructuring plan it aims to cut its stake to about 30%. The firm recorded a net loss of 114.9m euros (£91m; $178m) last year.

Proton Teams Up With Major Foreign Hybrid OEMs

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) — Proton Holdings Bhd is collaborating with major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) involved in the production of hybrid components and systems, according to managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

He said the move would help Proton fast track plans for rolling out its very own hybrid scars within two to three years.

“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,” he said.

“To realise this, we have started collaborating with several foreign OEMs such as Bosch who are involved in producing hybrid components and system.

“With this collaboration, we are not seeking to reinvent the wheel but only learning from them. Whatever technology they have, can be applied to Proton,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of the 13th Civil Service Conference here Monday.

Bosch, a German auto parts maker, is the world’s largest supplier of automobile components. The company has business relationships with virtually every automobile manufacturer in the world.

Bosch is in a joint venture with Samsung to produce lithium-ion hybrid vehicle batteries.

Lithium-ion battery technology is considered a key technology for the future of energy storage.

Syed Zainal also said that Proton was currently undertaking research and development to identify certain aspects of technology to reduce the cost of producing hybrid cars.

A hybrid car uses two forms of energy to power it – normal fuel and battery or electricity.

– BERNAMA

Proton Has No Choice But To Raise Its Capacity And Competitiveness, Says Abdullah

SHAH ALAM, Aug 2 (Bernama) — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he wants national car producer, Proton, to work harder to raise its capacity and competitiveness to be on par with leading car producers in the world.

“To stay relevant and in the market, be it local or overseas, Proton has no choice but to push up the level of customers’ acceptance for its cars,” he said.

This calls for Proton to ensure that its cars always meet the requirements of its customers while it continues efforts to increase the quality of its products, he said.

Abdullah said this at the launch of Proton’s technology week at its plant here Saturday.

Proton must also double its efforts to provide products and services which will bring in more customers throughout the time.

“This is because higher quality products and customer service is the centre of focus for the much bigger competitors of Proton in the international market,” he pointed out.

– BERNAMA