car specifically fro muslims..
Malaysian carmaker Proton has announced plans to develop an ‘Islamic car’, designed specifically for Muslim motorists. Muslims pray five times a day in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam, to help the occupants, the islamic car would boast special features like a compass pointing to Mecca and a dedicated space to keep a copy of the Koran and a headscarf. The idea of buliding a car specifically for muslims around the world came during a visit to the Middle East by a delegation of Malaysian politicians and businessmen. Malaysian press reports say officials in Iran originally suggested the idea.
Proton and Naza’s small car in India:
Proton thinks vehicles designed specifically for Muslims across the world represent a huge gap in the market, and therefore a major opportunity. Proton is planning to team up with manufacturers in Iran and Turkey to create the islamic car.”We will identify a car that we can develop to be produced in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey,” Malaysian automaker Proton’s managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir told. The car to be developed by will be aimed at the global export market. There are an estimated 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, with the largest populations in Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran. Also Muslim world population is growing very fast. Being the home to the third largest population, chances are high that Indians recieving the islamic car. Currently, Proton is also holding discussions with the Sonalika Group (parent of ICML) for a possible small car. NAZA an another malayasian car maker is already making a feasibility study to roll out its small car in india. Naza plans to set up a car assembly unit in Tamilnadu. Recently, Naza had unveiled its first locally(malayasian) built compact car, called the Sutera in 2006 and at the time of the launch, Naza officials indicated that it will target overseas markets such as India, Britain and South Africa. The 1.1 litre Sutera sells in Malaysia for the price equivalent of Rs 4.5 lakh.
About Proton:
Proton has been building cars since the 1980s, and sold about 150,000 in 2005 before experiencing a slump in 2006. Most of its sales are domestic although it also exports to countries mostly in the Middle East and Asia. The state-owned carmaker has been in talks with Germany’s Volkswagen AG and General Motors Corp. of the U.S. about a possible alliance to turn around its fortunes..Proton announced last week that it had won an order to supply 5,000 units of its compact Waja model to be used as taxis in Tehran as part of the city’s $US200 million ($221 million) public transport renewal initiative.
In 1999 Proton announced that it will set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India to sell its cars. Proton and Hindustan Motors of India also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for assembling Proton cars in Chennai. But the deal never fruitified.