Let’s look at this from just a business point of view. Push aside all our emotional and patriotic feelings about Proton and think about the many many many jobs at stake. Here are 5 solid reasons why we think Geely will make a great partner for Proton.
- Geely bought into Volvo Cars Sweden and look at their profits today. When Ford and Land Rover owned Volvo many years ago they just took apart Volvo and used their research and development to make their own brands stronger.
- Geely invested billions into Volvo Cars and developed new exciting products like the new XC90 and the soon to be launched S90 luxury sedan. This could happen to Proton as well as Geely needs to have cars for the small and mid segment as with Volvo Cars they have the premium segment well sorted.
- Geely will create more jobs for Malaysians with this investment and let us not be silly and push them away as they might take their investment to Thailand or Indonesia who have benefited in recent years from our ‘closed’ automotive market.
- Geely will assist in bringing Proton cars to China in a big way. Previous attempts by Proton to sell cars in China have been rather dismal. If Proton cars start selling via Geely’s network in China it could be very profitable for Proton and Malaysia in the long run.
- Geely could in time have Volvo technology and their ‘Drive e’ engines being installed in Proton cars and this could boost sales and also boost our local parts manufacturing industry.
There are 8 million right hand drive (RHD) vehicles sold every year globally and Geely sells roughly zero RHD cars, so even if Geely cars were sold under Proton, if nothing else Geely would make a handsome license fee and Proton would benefit from the sales which in turn will help Malaysian workers and vendors.
The overall plan is basically to invest in Proton to bring it back to global sales levels Proton had in the 1990s. (remember the success of the Waja)
Geely already has midsize vehicles such as its GC9 sedan and Boyue SUV, as well as small car with technology developed together with Volvo. Strong sales of the GC9 and the Boyue SUV helped Geely grow its China sales by 50% last year to 765,851 vehicles.
Geely’s investment would help Proton grow its sales overseas and recover some of the global presence it has lost in recent years.
