Chinese automaker Geely has agreed to buy Proton from DRB-Hicom, beating rival bidder PSA Group in the process according to reports.
Geely Holding, which already owns Geely Automotive, Lync & Co and Volvo, will buy 49 percent of Proton which in turn controls Lotus, according to Reuters, contradicting an earlier report on the matter.
DRB-Hicom could not immediately be reached for a comment after office hours, with the company earlier asking for trading its shares to be suspended for the announcement.
The second candidate for purchasing Proton was PSA Group, with Renault and Suzuki also reportedly having expressed their interest.
Right now Proton re-badges models from other manufacturers in order to sell them in the local Malaysian market, but quality issues have created problems for the brand. Proton has two plants in Malaysia with an annual capacity of 400,000 cars, which currently run far below their maximum potential.
Geely’s purchase could help Proton grow its presence overseas and recover some of the lost ground, by offering some of its own technology and make the Malaysian brand competitive in right-hand drive markets, including Malaysia, UK, India and Australia.
PHOTO
