The government has target the production of about 280,000 units of cars for the China and Southeast Asian markets from the strategic partnership between Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group and Proton Holdings Bhd (Proton).

Second minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said the automotive market in Malaysia was small, where last year sales of various brands recorded 580,000 units compared to China at 28 million units.

"At 28 million units, China wants to assist us in securing one per cent of this amount," he added.

"So, Geely with Proton needs to build a plant here in the next five years. When ready, cars will enter the China and Southeast Asian markets with the latter being an important destination with a population of 600 million," he added.

Ong, who is also the Tanjung Malim Member of Parliament said the manufacturing of Proton cars will be still at Tanjung Malim, with a bigger segment maintained at Shah Alam, Selangor, as reported by Bernama.

Curiously however, this goes against the previous announcement that the entire operation in Shah Alam will be moved to Tanjung Malim within the next five years. The 250-acre land where the Shah Alam factory sits on currently will be transferred to DRB-HICOM, Proton’s parent company.

"Tanjung Malim will also witness a major change when new jobs are expected to be created in the near future, resulting from the economic spillover in the district.

"We are taking the opportunity to plan for the construction of an electronics plant in Tanjung Malim as cars use a lot of electronics. What is important is that it will open up more job opportunities for the youth, so that they need not migrate to the big cities,' he added.

Source: Bernama