BusinessWeek: Proton & GM - An Ungainly Union?
It seems that even the international media are wondering what GM is doing courting Proton. According to BusinessWeek, GM has troubles of its own in its own homeland and they wonder what the heck they are doing flirting with another troubled carmarker with neglible global market share. An analyst is quoted as saying that Volkswagen is a better bet. One thing's for sure is that if GM does get its way, we'll see more Daewoo-rebadged-as-Chevy platforms in this dear little dumping ground we call home. Technorati: Proton, Malaysia, business, GMLabels: automobiles, Malaysia, Proton
GM interested in Proton: The longer we delay, the less attractive Proton becomes
So now GM, the world's largest automobile company is apparently interested in Proton. And the main thing going for our beleaguered and overprotected national car is its share of the local market say analysts.Which means the longer our government and concerned parties twiddle their thumbs and procrastinate over Proton's fate, the less valuable it will be. Perodua, with its more focused marketing and arguably better leadership, has already assumed the mantle of market leader.For many Malaysians who have been forced to buy aging japanese and french platforms remodelled as new protons, this is poetic justice. But as we have discovered, years of protectionism have now made it extremely difficult to reduce the price of cars overnight without destroying the value of the millions of existing cars on the roads now. Get with it Pak Lah. Sell Proton before nobody wants it.Technorati: Proton, Malaysia, GMLabels: Cars, GM, Malaysia, Proton
