The Indian two wheeler company Hero Group is to have a pact with Malaysia’s Proton for an assembling venture. This will be the Asia’s third biggest venture after China and Japan. The outcome of the pact is to be known. The Hero Group has the major share in the Indian two wheeler market as Hero Group, along with Hero Honda Motor Ltd, has 26% share each. Proton is simultaneously talks with the Indian car and truck maker M&M, which is not reliable as of now.
Yet the initial news in the air is Proton likes to have a business deal in the form of manufacturing and distribution, from either of the companies. The move, from the Malaysian firm, is right from a decade ago and the company is on the verge of converting this into a regional factor. Proton has a good track record – as on June 30, it has sold 69,977 autos in Malaysia ( a dip by 2% than the earlier year. This has been an another such move by Proton, which preceded its move with the Indian firm Argentum Auto, which is basically a contract manufacturer. Proton offered to make use of Argentum’s plants for assembling cars in India, but in vain.
The global recession had no serious impact on the auto market in India, as several global car and other auto makers have invaded the market largely. Renault S.A, Nissan, Daimler A.G (truck) are the few to quote who make frequent investments in the Indian market. The sale figure of cars and SUV in India show upward rise- 12% for the period of April-Aug with 716 594 units. As on March 31, the car sale received a growth of 1.3 % (it was 1.21 million cars compared to 1.20 million in the preceding year)