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Proton eyes VW platforms
10/24/2005
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (AFP): Malaysia's biggest carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd has expressed interest in purchasing two platforms of successful models from German auto giant Volkswagen, a report said today.
The Edge financial newspaper quoted a Proton official as saying that the company was interested in Volkswagen's Passat and Sharan platforms, both of which achieved international success a few years ago.
The Sharan is a seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle while the Passat is a saloon model. The source declined to reveal how much Proton would pay for the platforms.
But one industry analyst said buying the two platforms would not address Proton's problem of quickly producing new models, as design and development work could still take a year or two.
The analyst also said that the deal with Volkswagen would not help Proton stop falling sales.
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