Minister of Youth and Sports Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar (centre) launching the all-new Proton Saga 1.3L. With him are(from left) Proton Holdings deputy chief executive officer Md Radzaif Mohamed, DRB-HICOM director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil, Group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar Syed Ali Rethza Albar and Proton chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali. — Bernama photo photo
SETIA ALAM: Conglomerate DRB-HICOM Bhd aims to complete Proton Holdings Bhd’s stake disposal exercise by the middle of next year.
Speaking to reporters after the launch of the all-new Proton Saga here yesterday, Group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar Syed Ali Rethza Albar said currently, the group was studying proposals from five potential buyers.
“We are at the stage of understanding their strategic proposals where we will be meeting up with them for more deeper discussions to understand what they can offer before we can decide how much stake we are willing to give up. We hope to identify the potential partner by next year and complete the exercise by the middle of next year. However, we will strive to conclude the deal by the first quarter,” he said.
Syed Faisal said there were three main categories that would be taken into consideration in deciding the strategic partner, namely strategic, operational and cultural.
“We are looking at what they (potential buyers) can offer and whether or not they can help to further develop our local vendors,” he said.
Syed Faisal, however, said that DRB-HICOM had yet to decide how much of Proton’s stake would be sold.
“We have not decided on that number at all. It’s depend on how much potential in the offer and I think it’s highly premature to decide on that at the moment as we have not yet finalised our deal,” he said.
Meanwhile, Proton Chief Executive Officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said the national carmaker had revised its sales target for the new Proton Saga to 5,000 units per month from 8,000 units per month.
He said the target reduction was made due to intense competition in the sedan car market.
“If we could achieve our sales target of at least 5,000 units per month, we can expect to break even for this model in three years’ time,” he added.
The new Proton Saga comes in three variants — Standard, Executive and Premium — with prices starting from RM36,800 to RM45,800 in Peninsular Malaysia.
All models are fitted with 1.3L VVT engine, replacing the IAFM engine used in the earlier generation.
VVT technology significantly improves Proton Saga performance in terms of acceleration and fuel consumption, Fuaad said. — Bernama