A Proton-badged Volkswagen Polo for RM70,000, anyone? According to a Business Times
report, Volkswagen AG has identified the B-segment Polo as the best fit
for Proton, and has formed a special team headed by operations head for
Asia Pacific, Soh Wei Ming, to look into the possibility of remodeling
the Polo as a Proton.
DRB-Hicom, Proton’s new owner, is of course Volkswagen’s local
partner for CKD operations. The Polo is currently sold in Malaysia as a
CBU import, and retails for RM113,888 in 1.2 TSI guise.
The report says that the plan put forward by VW to DRB-Hicom would
see a locally-made Polo “priced competitively at below the RM70,000
mark”. No mention of it, but the Polo in question could well be the Polo Sedan, too.
It was revealed that some VW directors have visited the Proton plant
and reviewed the national carmaker’s existing products. A meeting in
Hong Kong last month between Soh and DRB-Hicom’s chief operating
officer, Datuk Lukman Ibrahim followed, and it was then that the Polo
project was proposed.
So if BT is to be believed, Proton is about to take a path
similar to the one Skoda took in the early 90s. The Czech brand was then
the butt of many a motoring joke, but thanks to VW hardware
and know how, it’s now profit making company selling over 800k units
globally. For those who don’t need a VW badge, Skodas offer the same good stuff at lower prices, a successful formula.
I think if Proton rebadged Polo for sure equipped with 1.2 TSi engine or Campro. What will the name be? When will it come out? Stay tuned.
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