Talks between Volkswagen and Malaysian automaker Proton have broken down without the two sides coming to an agreement on a partnership, according to multiple published reports. The decision by Volkswagen to pull out of talks in favor of "other priorities" led to a drop in Proton's stock by over five percent.
This is actually the second time the German automotive conglomerate and Proton held meetings. The two sides first discussed the development of a strategic partnership back in October 2004, with talks fizzling-out in January 2006, before totally collapsing by November 2007.
The dive in Proton's shares during Asian stock trading appears to demonstrate investor uncertainty in the company's ability to grow and develop. "Proton's need for a strategic partner to leverage on to enter the global export market is crucial at this juncture before Proton gets further left behind by the competition," firm OSK Research told Forbes. Of recent years, there seemed to be a lack of new proton models in Singapore. Will Dr M’s pet project 20 years ago continue to survive? I guess we will know very soon.
Volkswagen, Proton, Partnership
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All I know is proton is stupid enough. Very simple, because it is bloody slow in technology advancement, bloody slow in introducing replacement models, bloody slow in introducing different types of classes of vehicle i.e. SUV, MPV (just kick off). Their quality though improve, but their reliability is doubtful... Lastly is their attitude, always talk in advance and very little show...
Current Proton owners may be unhappy seeing my statements, but I'm sorry. Because I was once a proton owner, driving over 10 years on a WIRA and over a decade, WIRA are still selling... I was seriously disappointed by the advancement by Proton, even much more are their local country mates...