Honda Reportedly Teaming With Malaysia’s Proton

Malaysian national auto maker Proton reportedly will collaborate with Japan’s Honda.

An unnamed source quoted by The Star says the Honda pact is one of a string of announcements expected in the next 12 months that include the launch of new models.

The source says the collaboration will be “multi-layered” and entail not only cross-platform development, but also give Proton a role in the global supply chain.

The newspaper says it has learned there was a meeting last week among managers of Honda, Proton and Proton owner DRB-Hicom to move planning forward on specific areas of the proposed collaboration.

The source says Honda is expanding in Malaysia and its plans for higher localization would include the stamping of parts. Only a few auto makers in the country are capable of doing this.

“It is natural for Honda to choose Proton as a partner, based on the long working relationship between Honda and DRB-Hicom,” the source is quoted as saying.

“Things are ongoing and moving forward. You will see more announcements in the months to come, inclusive of the introduction of the Preve hatchback.”

Codenamed the P3-22A, a 5-door variant of the Preve has been seen undergoing testing on public roads with substantial parts of the car camouflaged.

The source suggests future announcements might include a model to supersede the Perdana. The successor to the aging Perdana was long-rumored to be based on the Nissan Fuga, but Proton terminated its memorandum of understanding with Nissan in 2011.

The Star says another source now suggests Proton plans to use the Honda Accord chassis as the platform to develop the Perdana replacement. This would entail some cosmetic changes for the PRM, which is intended to be widely used as the new official government car.

“The engine could be based on the 2.0L Petronas engines Proton bought last year,” the source says.

Proton bought the Petronas engine technology for 63 million ringgit ($20.6 million). The engine was developed as part of Petronas’ involvement in Formula 1 racing sponsorship.

The source says the Perdana replacement will not be a growth-driver for Proton, as volume would not be substantial. Growth is expected to come instead from vehicles with lower-capacity engines.

Proton, once the dominant Malaysian player, is seeing its market position weaken. Its March sales fell 7% year-on-year to 11,870 units, but The Star says this was 16% better than February’s 10,229.