Proton exits Bursa after 9-year and it was listed back in 2004. Stock exchange today under its new owner DRB-Hicom Bhd. Having succeeded in its bid to privatise Proton, DRB-Hicom would be delisting the national carmaker after securing more than 90% interest through its takeover offer.

As at April 26, DRB-Hicom held a 98.6% stake in Proton, and it has extended its offer to May 9 to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in the company.

With the privatisation, DRB-Hicom is given free rein to do whatever is needed to re-energise the national carmaker without the need to seek approvals from shareholders on impending corporate exercises.

“Despite getting privatised, Proton is still an important national agenda that had contributed to the country’s industrial achievements. All eyes will still be on DRB-Hicom’s efforts to bring the national carmaker back to its former glory,” said an industry observer.
DRB-Hicom acquired a 42.74% stake in Proton from Khazanah Nasional Bhd at RM5.50 a share back in January and subsequently launched a takeover offer for the remaining shares, with the whole deal valuing Proton at RM3.02bil.

Since then, the conglomerate has made a slew of board changes in the group by appointing its group managing director Datuk Mohd Khamil Jamil as Proton chairman.

“The air is currently filled with speculations on what DRB-Hicom would do to Proton, and Lotus Group International Ltd Proton’s loss-making performance carmaker seems to be on top of DRB-Hicom’s priorities,” said the industry observer.

Nevertheless, he said Proton would certainly benefit from the synergies arising from DRB-Hicom’s automotive manufacturing arm that expanded into operations for 10 international car marques.

Recently, Proton launched Preve, the new model touted to be the global car, and the company is targeting to export the model to prove that its manufacturing capabilities can match other global automotive players.

Proton was started in 1979 when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (then the deputy prime minister) mooted the idea of establishing an automotive assembling and manufacturing industry.

UMW Toyota’s opens in Klang for new body and paint centre in Bukit Raja, Klang.With the opening of this new facility, the Body and Paint repair operations at Sungai Rasah will be relocated to Bukit Raja to provide better service to customers. However, customers are still able to check-in for Body and Paint repairs at the Sungai Rasah service centre, which remains in its current location.The 5.7-acre facility – which began operation earlier in the week – is currently equipped with 42 work bays and four paint booths, all compliant with the standards set by Toyota Motor Corporation, and has as a repair capacity of 6,150 units per year.

The Star earlier reported Government may pile on more incentives for hybrid and electric vehicles. This move is being done to encourage more Malaysians to embrace environment-friendly vehicles.

By the way of the current incentives, which include the 100% import duty and excise duty exemption for hybrids below 2,000 cc in place until December 2013, the Government is exploring other avenues to spur the uptake of such vehicles. One such incentive the Government is looking at is possible income tax exemption.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said that the incentives will be revealed when the second revision of National Automotive Policy is announced later this year.

He said that there are currently about 8,000 hybrid cars on the road, which the government sees as a very low figure. He added that the goal is to increase the number of both hybrid and electric vehicles on Malaysian roads significantly by 2020.

The announcement was made during the launch of Edaran Tan Chong Motor’s Nissan Leaf Pilot Programme. The Leaf is not yet available for sale in Malaysia, but it is available for a limited period for test drives at selected locations.

Starting Rally New Caledonia strongly, PROTON was not only forced to concede the lead going into the second day but also suffered one early retirement.

Defending APRC champion Alister McRae retired in the second special stage but continued on the final day under Super Rally format, winning three of the day’s six special stages to secure seven valuable championship points.

The winner of Rally New Caledonia is Guarav Gill and Chris Atkinson in second place.

Meanwhile, having led the rally on the opening day and setting fastest times in three of the four special stages, PROTON team mate PG Andersson was also forced to relinquish his lead on the second day of rallying.

Andersson’s Satria Neo S2000 experienced an abrupt loss of power as a result of a water crossing, a predicament that would later cost him to lose more than 14 minutes and dropping the Swedish driver to fourth in the APRC category.

With a large deficit to make up, Andersson however, was denied the chance of a roaring comeback on the third and final day by a second mechanical failure.

Rally New Caledonia was contested over a competitive distance of 252.82km covering 19 special stages.

“We had hoped for a repeat of last year’s double podium results in New Caledonia but the reality of rallying is such that all the hard work and preparation is never a guarantee of a strong finish,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, the Head of PROTON Motorsports.

“Having said this we take back some consolation in the fact that the Satria Neo S2000 is at its most competitive form in the hands of both McRae and Andersson having set a blistering pace at the head of the competition.”

Meanwhile, PROTON’s Director of Group Marketing, Branding and Motorsport John D. Chacko said the Satria Neo S2000′s performance in New Caledonia earned the team renewed admiration and respect.

“The fighting spirit of the two drivers clearly outweighed the misfortunes we endured in New Caledonia and this only goes towards strengthening our resolve as we focus on the remaining rounds in the championship. This without a doubt, shows PROTON’s continued perseverance and commitment to be better.”

Proton Edar’s Facebook account has posted a clarification on what they are claiming actually happened with the car. According to Proton Edar, the accident happened around 4.45pm yesterday where the red Proton Preve in the picture driven by a Proton Edar sales advisor hit a divider and landed in a such a manner that caused the lower arm to break, resulting in the awkward position of the front wheel in the photo.