VW In Tie-Up Talks With Proton
Having recently hooked up with firms like BYD and Suzuki, Volkswagen is continuing its rampage across the developing world’s markets, as Reuters reports that the VW’s leadership is in talks with the Malaysian state-owned (42 percent) automaker Proton. VW had previously sought an alliance with Proton, but talks broke off without an agreement in 2007. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, VW is not likely to take a stake in Proton despite last year’s policy shift by the Malaysian government allowing foreign firms to own majority stakes in mainstream Malaysian automakers. Proton was founded as a joint venture between the Malaysian state-owned firm Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and Mitsubishi.
Speculation about a Proton-VW tie-up has been rampant in Malaysia for years (and the firm has also been tied to talks with PSA and GM), but now that it appears to be happening, the details are emerging slowly. Apparently an equity stake isn’t likely, meaning cooperation will probably focus on platform and engine sharing. It’s also possible that Proton’s excess capacity could be used to build Volkswagens, and Proton could replace its Perdana sedan with a rebadged Passat.
For now though, we’ll have to wait on details. According to Proton’s Chairman Mohamad Nadzmi Mohamad Salleh, a deal still won’t be announced for “one or two weeks.”
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- TheEndlessEnigma Of course they should unionize. US based automotive production component production and auto assembly plants with unionized memberships produce the highest quality products in the automotive sector. Just look at the high quality products produced by GM, Ford and Chrysler!
- Redapple2 Got cha. No big.
- Theflyersfan The wheel and tire combo is tragic and the "M Stripe" has to go, but overall, this one is a keeper. Provided the mileage isn't 300,000 and the service records don't read like a horror novel, this could be one of the last (almost) unmodified E34s out there that isn't rotting in a barn. I can see this ad being taken down quickly due to someone taking the chance. Recently had some good finds here. Which means Monday, we'll see a 1999 Honda Civic with falling off body mods from Pep Boys, a rusted fart can, Honda Rot with bad paint, 400,000 miles, and a biohazard interior, all for the unrealistic price of $10,000.
- Theflyersfan Expect a press report about an expansion of VW's Mexican plant any day now. I'm all for worker's rights to get the best (and fair) wages and benefits possible, but didn't VW, and for that matter many of the Asian and European carmaker plants in the south, already have as good of, if not better wages already? This can drive a wedge in those plants and this might be a case of be careful what you wish for.
- Jkross22 When I think about products that I buy that are of the highest quality or are of great value, I have no idea if they are made as a whole or in parts by unionized employees. As a customer, that's really all I care about. When I think about services I receive from unionized and non-unionized employees, it varies from C- to F levels of service. Will unionizing make the cars better or worse?
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I'm sure this tie-up has something to do with VW buying 90% of Italdesign Giugiaro. This is a cote from VW CEO Martin Winterkorn: “I want Italdesign Giugiaro to continue producing innovative vehicles concepts, such as the (Proton) Emas minicar unveiled in Geneva” Who knows we might see more tie-ups, as Giugiaro was working for various Asian car makers. One good thing about Italdesign is that Giorgetto Giugiaro is not only a very talented designer but also a very good businessman.
I'm with Ronnie, but I wouldn't mind if my Audi A3 was a little lighter. Just don't make them build SUVs like Porsche.