PROTON WANTS LOTUS BRAND TO SCALE GREATER HEIGHTS

From Mahanum Abdul Aziz

NORWICH (United Kingdom), Oct 5 (Bernama) -- National carmaker, Proton
Holdings Bhd, wants to build upon the Lotus brand and return its lost glory by
introducing new car models.

Its Group Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said
the recent launch of Evora, Lotus' first car since 1995, is a turning point
for the brand to scale greater heights.

" We believe Lotus's potential is in the branding. If you go acrosss the
globe, the brand recognition is very strong but we have not lived up it," he
said in an interview with members of the Malaysian media in conjunction with the
visit by the King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and his consort Tuanku Nur Zahirah
to the Lotus plant here recenty.

Lotus Group Chief Executive Officer Dany Taner Bahar said the Lotus brand's
potential was huge and its inherent strengths were the iconic brand, its long
history in car racing and its reputation as a manufacturer of exciting,
innovative and light sports cars.

" Lotus was mentioned in the same sentence as Ferrari, Lamborghini and
Maserati in the 1970s-1990s. Then, it got closed into a corner. We believe it's
the right time to bring Lotus back to where it was," he said.

Besides uplifting the Lotus brand to greater heights and success, Syed
Zainal said Proton would continue to explore further and utilise Lotus'
engineering advancements and technologies to enhance Proton's products and
manpower skills.

Although Proton has owned Lotus for more than 10 years, he admitted that the
carmaker had not fully utilised the British subsidiary.

" Today, we have reassessed the interaction between the two companies. No
doubt there are gaps and weaknesses that need to be improved upon, but we are
quite determined to make the collaboration stronger," he said.

-- BERNAMA