Proton signs JV MoU with Hawtai Group
Proton Holdings Bhd and the Hawtai Motor Group Ltd of China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore collaborations in the area of product development with an eye on possibly establishing a joint venture company in China to facilitate joint product development. A three-month period is set to study the business case for such a venture.
The MoU was signed between Proton Group Managing Director, Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir and the Executive President of Hawtai, Mr Hou Haijing. Present as witnesses were the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak; the Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Mustapha Mohamed, top Chinese central government officials, Proton Chairman, Dato’ Sri Mohd. Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh and other senior government officials at a ceremony in Nanning.
Initial scope of the JV agreement will include the licensing of current Proton models to be manufactured at Hawtai’s plant for consumption in the Chinese domestic market. The vehicles will be sold under the Hawtai brand, with Proton co-naming a possibility. Initial products considered for this arrangement are the Exora MPV and the upcoming P3-21A model, slated for an early 2012 global debut.
Further scope of the agreement will cover the aspect of vendor sourcing and component development. This move allows Proton to tap into China’s vast array of automotive vendors, and may even pave the way for cross-supplying of components from Malaysian vendors to China. Joint development of new models are mooted for a later phase.
The Beijing-based Hawtai Motor Group was established in 2000 and currently has an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles, 300,000 engines and 300,000 automatic transmissions. It setup a JV with Hyundai to manufacture Chinese-market versions of the Matrix, Santa Fe, and Terracan. The company’s current line-up of vehicles includes a luxury sedan, the Hawtai Terracan SUV and its own self-developed B-Class SUV.
