Proton has been busy confirming long-term production agreements and racecar sponsorships…
The Malaysian government-owned carmaker, recently confirmed its collaboration with Japanese company Mitsubishi Motor Corp (MMC). A longtime partner (until 2004, Mitsubishi owned a 7.9 per cent stake in Proton), Mitsubishi will work with Proton in four main areas: product development; component supply; techincal support in the areas of production engineering and quality control; and wider manufacturing facility optimisation.
The agreement between Proton and Mitsubishi took place in Kuala Lumpur on February 3 and was witnessed by Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry.
The agreement is expected to help MMC expand its business in Malaysia, while, Proton says the agreement will enable it to diversify its vehicle range and accelerate the effort to achieve better quality and manufacturing process.
Meantime, VW and Proton have formalised an agreement to develop “environmentally friendly engines.”
Confirmed by VW-AG on January 26, the alliance will see the companies “move quickly to hold technical discussions to negotiate details of possible implementation.”
“We have moved past the issue of VW-AG taking any kind of shareholding and we are now able to work on specific initiatives that complements Proton’s capabilities and current range of products,” Proton said,
“The cooperation will commence with these specific projects in the areas of technical and engineering, training and systems as well as other commercial projects, including the possibility of supporting VW-AG to explore a Malaysian dealer network.”
At the same time Proton Holdings and Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) announced that they have entered an agreement to jointly develop larger engines and environmentally friendly alternative fuel systems for use by the Malaysian national automaker.
The memorandum of intent will see both parties collaborate and explore the possibilities of further developing Petronas’ engines.
Finally, Proton has also entered into a sponsorship agreement with A1 Grand Prix Malaysia to sponsor and back the Malaysian national team in the Grand Prix of Nations competition.
The agreement was signed by Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir, managing director of Proton and team principal of A1GP Malaysia, Jack Cunningham just before the South African round of the series.
Syed Zainal said that the company sees the sponsorship of A1 Team Malaysia as an excellent avenue for Proton to reach an international audience as well as participating in a recognised global motor sport arena.
