28-01-2009: Proton's China sales appear to be on track
PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd is estimated to have supplied at least 13,000 units of its GEN.2 cars to China's Jianhua Youngman Automobile Manufacturing Co Ltd since the end of 2007 to be re-badged and sold under the Europestar brand in the country.
OSK Research Sdn Bhd's analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman said this was based on the information given by the national carmaker, adding that on the higher end of the scale it could have supplied up to 17,000 cars.
"Based on the agreement between the two that a minimum 30,000 cars will be supplied over two years, Proton appears to be on track.
"Although the contribution from this to Proton's revenue stream should be quite stable, Proton however has not shared much more details with us (analysts)," he said.
Efforts by The Edge Financial Daily to obtain further details from Proton came to naught, as the national carmaker seemingly preferred not to pre-empt its third-quarter (3Q) results announcement due next month.
Proton in July 2007 announced that its unit Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd would supply 30,000 completely-built-up cars to Youngman to be re-badged.
At the same time the company, through its 55%-owned Proton Parts Centre Sdn Bhd agreed to supply genuine service parts to Youngman.
It also said Youngman would have access to engineering and development consultancy services from Proton via its subsidiaries in the Lotus group of companies, for the development of complete-knocked-down (CKD) cars for Youngman in China.
Ikmal Hafizi of TA Securities Research, like Ahmad Maghfur, said the Proton management kept details of its dealings with Youngman close to their chest.
"They are very cautious as to what they want to share with analysts these days," he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the government's call for Proton to expedite the design of the so-called "Malaysian taxi", Ahmad Maghfur said there were still many issues to be considered by the national carmaker before embarking on the project.
"At the outset, Proton can quite easily do minor facelift and interior shaping for a taxi as it is just a question of making changes to the body, and the engine is not in issue as its existing technology is sufficient.
"What remains to be seen is whether the government would provide any incentive for local cabbies to buy such a vehicle. It would be tough to get all taxis converted to a new design without incentives as many taxi drivers are still maintaining their Proton Iswara models," he said.
OSK Research Sdn Bhd's analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman said this was based on the information given by the national carmaker, adding that on the higher end of the scale it could have supplied up to 17,000 cars.
"Based on the agreement between the two that a minimum 30,000 cars will be supplied over two years, Proton appears to be on track.
"Although the contribution from this to Proton's revenue stream should be quite stable, Proton however has not shared much more details with us (analysts)," he said.
Efforts by The Edge Financial Daily to obtain further details from Proton came to naught, as the national carmaker seemingly preferred not to pre-empt its third-quarter (3Q) results announcement due next month.
Proton in July 2007 announced that its unit Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd would supply 30,000 completely-built-up cars to Youngman to be re-badged.
At the same time the company, through its 55%-owned Proton Parts Centre Sdn Bhd agreed to supply genuine service parts to Youngman.
It also said Youngman would have access to engineering and development consultancy services from Proton via its subsidiaries in the Lotus group of companies, for the development of complete-knocked-down (CKD) cars for Youngman in China.
Ikmal Hafizi of TA Securities Research, like Ahmad Maghfur, said the Proton management kept details of its dealings with Youngman close to their chest.
"They are very cautious as to what they want to share with analysts these days," he said.
Meanwhile, commenting on the government's call for Proton to expedite the design of the so-called "Malaysian taxi", Ahmad Maghfur said there were still many issues to be considered by the national carmaker before embarking on the project.
"At the outset, Proton can quite easily do minor facelift and interior shaping for a taxi as it is just a question of making changes to the body, and the engine is not in issue as its existing technology is sufficient.
"What remains to be seen is whether the government would provide any incentive for local cabbies to buy such a vehicle. It would be tough to get all taxis converted to a new design without incentives as many taxi drivers are still maintaining their Proton Iswara models," he said.
posted by SEE FU at 6:34 PM
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