Malaysia's Proton to manufacture Suzuki compact car

Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) has signed a collaboration agreement with Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) to supply completely knocked down (CKD) components for a compact passenger car to be rolled out next year.  

As the first step of the collaboration, SMC will supply components for the Suzuki model. Proton will manufacture this model at its Tanjung Malim plant from August 2016 and will market this model, under the Proton brand, in Malaysia. SMC says other additional models will be mutually studied by Proton and SMC. Also, in the future, supply of engines and transmissions by Suzuki to Proton and installation of such engines and transmissions by Proton for its own models will be explored.

The signing ceremony was held in Malaysia yesterday and was attended by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, chairman of Proton (former prime minister of Malaysia), and Syed Mohamad Syed Murtaza, chairman of DRB-HICOM Berhad. Signing on behalf of Proton was Abdul Harith Abdullah, CEO, on behalf of DRB-HICOM Berhad was Radzaif Mohamed, chief operating officer, Automotive Distribution & Manufacturing, while SMC was represented by Osamu Suzuki, chairman and CEO.

Osamu Suzuki, chairman & CEO, SMC, said: “All this while we have carried out our automobile business in Malaysia on our own. Through the collaboration with Proton from now on, we would like to develop a comprehensive synergy between the two companies.”

For Suzuki Motor Corp, which imports fully built up cars into Malaysia, the partnership with Proton will enable it to get a manufacturing footprint in the country. Proton, the first national carmaker in Malaysia, set up operations in 1983 and sold about 116,000 vehicles in 2014. It currently has a 17% market share in Malaysia. Stiff competition over the years has seen the once-dominant company’s market share fall substantially. The tie-up with Suzuki is a move to gain more traction in the domestic market.