Proton Chief Reveals MV Cost-Cutting Idea
Tengku Kan Sri Mahaleel Ariff, chief executive of Malaysian automotive group Proton, reportedly has plans to ask suppliers of MV Agusta to move parts production to Asia in order to reduce component costs by approximately 30%.
Proton recently took over 57.75% of MV Agusta, which also manufactures under brand names Cagiva and Husqvarna, through a Euro 70 million capital injection. Tengku’s plan to bring parts production to Asia is just one part of a cost savings plan he has for the Italian motorcycle manufacturer. The move could reduce component costs by approximately 30%, he told reporters while on a visit to MV Agusta’s headquarters this week.
Tengku said that the group’s motorcycles would continue to be designed and assembled in Italy, since that is where the group derives its added value, reported Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Parts suppliers unwilling to shift production to Asia may be replaced. “No one is indispensable,” the newspaper quoted him.
