Monday September 01, 2008

Malaysia Proton to develop hybrid car

channelnewsasia.com :

Malaysia's state-owned carmaker Proton is developing a new, fuel-efficient hybrid car to beat rising costs and address environmental concerns. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the state Bernama news agency he had already test-driven the car and urged the company to continue researching energy-saving technologies. "Such an effort by Proton will also assist the government in saving petrol and preserving the environment," the Star daily quoted him as saying. Proton was formed 25 years ago by former premier Mahathir Mohamad as part of an ambitious national industrialisation plan but its market share has slumped over the years, as it faced difficulties coping in a new deregulated market.

- An admirable effort, but one has to wonder whether they are up to the technical challenge, given how Toyota has had over a 10-year headstart, with the 2009 Toyota Prius looming, and the Honda Civic Hybrid is into the second generation as well. Techniques such as regenerative braking, hybrid drivetrains and battery management software are not developed overnight. One prototype test car does not a production-ready model make. They would need to do some heavy-duty partnering, but with whom would they partner with? I would be most intrigued to see the business case for such a pairing. Or perhaps they might try to do it all alone?

See also :

1. Fuel prices seen stoking Malaysia inflation in 2008
2. Angry citizens protest as Malaysia eliminates subsidies, raising petrol prices 40% overnight
3. Malaysia petrol and diesel price hike to bite Singapore hard, worsening record inflation rate
4. Malaysia inflation rate jumps to 7.7% in Jun 2008, a 26-year record high

(2008-09-01 20:20:09 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

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