It is hardly surprising to read that Proton is once again struggling. No one really wants to buy their new car or existing cars unless they cannot help it financially. Their sales figures have been on the decline and new models are not selling as fast as they had hoped. They recently asked the Malaysian government for US$1 billion to help them fund the research and development of a new model. The level of corruption in Proton is well known among many suppliers who previously supplied parts to them. The US$1 billion request is scoffed at by the public as many believe that half of that money will end up in the pockets of a few people in the company.
Realistically Proton could easily adopt a much easier route if they were serious about developing a new model in the attempt to do real honest business. They can easily buy an existing chassis from a major car company and buy the engine and transmission from another, or simply do a rebadging job and alter the physical appearance to call it their own. Since they don't have the right engineering team to develop a car ground up that is worthy to compete on the global market, they are better of just doing a rebadging job. Saves them time, money and they can offer more models to the market which will help them take a slice in the market in various market segments.
With the founder Dr. Mahathir leaving the company as advisor, the company is in a predicament where they do not have someone of power to lean on to for help. The company has been protected long enough and until today they cannot compete in the domestic market without protection. Shouldn't it be time for this poor excuse for a car company to shut down and call it a day instead of continuing to burden the Malaysian public!
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