KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd and Honda Motor Co Ltd are currently engaged in the series of meetings to explore a possibility of collaborating in the field of technology enhancement, new product lines and sharing of platform and facilities.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said it will signal a long-term strategic collaboration involving more Proton engineers and local automotive vendors in a technical collaboration that will meet customer satisfaction.    

“In tandem with Proton’s aspiration to produce high-quality and high-technology new models, the meetings will touch on platform sharing, which is the methodology used now in the automotive industry.

“This new development model is expected to help Proton save millions in investment and development time for a new model,” he said in reply to a question from Dr Che Rosli Che Mat (BN-Hulu Langat) at the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

Che Rosli asked whether Proton was to collaborate with Honda as a business partner in rolling out a new model since the current Proton Perdana was 100% based on the eighth-generation Honda Accord.

Mustapa said Proton started manufacturing the Proton Perdana in January 1995 but its production ceased in 2010 because of obsolete technology, inadequate safety features and difficulty in sourcing spare parts.

“To meet the demand for D-segment cars, Proton introduced the new Proton Perdana. For the first phase (December 2013 to 2015), this model is only introduced for use as government vehicles,” he said.

For the public sector, Mustapa said the new Perdana model will be introduced in 2016.

An agreement was signed between Proton and Honda on Oct 29, 2012, followed by a specific agreement for a replacement Proton Perdana model, he added.

“Based on this agreement, the development for a new Proton Perdana was based on the previous Honda Accord model,” said Mustapa.

To date, Proton has produced 1,000 units of the 2,000cc Proton Perdana and 700 units of the 2,400cc variant.

“The 2,400cc variant is for use by ministers, local government and Jusa (jawatan utama sektor awam) A officers and above,” he added.

To another question on whether Proton can maintain its current low prices, Mustapa said the government does not interfere in pricing as Proton is a private car company owned by DRB-Hicom Bhd.

However, he said the ministry will monitor although Proton has the final say in determining prices.

To a supplementary question from Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan), Mustapa said Malaysia has several locally manufactured car models like Proton Iriz. The car’s engine is developed by a Malaysian.

“Proton adopted this collaborative approach as it was a cheaper business model. If it had gone on its own to develop and invent its own car, it would have required a capital injection of between US$500 million (RM1.66 billion) and US$2 billion.

“It would have entailed a longer period and incurred higher costs. As such, it is much cheaper to adopt the technology and facilities of an international reputable company like Honda,” Mustapa added. — Bernama

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 5, 2014.