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

Honda Raise Its Sales Target To 35,000 Units This Year

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) — Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd has raised its sales target for this year to 35,000 units from the 33,000 units previously.

This is due to the positive sales performance in the first half of the year where a total of 16,769 cars were sold compared to 14,177 during the same period last year, representing an 18 percent increase.

In a statement here Thursday, Honda Malaysia attributed the good first half performance to the successful introduction of the All-New Accord in April and the continuing positive contributions from the City, Civic and CR-V models.

The Accord recorded a robust booking of more than 5,000 units in its first month. It has currently a booking backlog of close to 3,000 units and is well on its way to exceeding the target of 7,200 units for the whole year.

Honda Malaysia managing director and chief executive officer, Atsushi Fujimoto expressed confidence in meeting the increased target.

He said the fuel price hike in June could work to Honda’s advantage.

“Currently, consumers are looking for cars that offer fuel efficient technology, a feature well-associated with Honda. As such,we believe Honda is in a strong position to cater to consumer needs,” he said.

Corresponding to the increased sales target as well as growing demand for its passenger cars, Honda is increasing the local assembly production from 30,000 to 35,000 units.

Honda will be introducing more new products in the second half of this year, starting with the second generation Jazz in August.

To cater to increasing demand for sales and after-sales services, Honda Malaysia plans to expand its dealership network nationwide.More would be opened in the states of Pahang, Penang,Perak, Johor, and Sarawak in the next five months.

– BERNAMA