Proton's Lotus marque
© AFP/File Teh Eng Koon

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The Edge weekly business newspaper said Mofaz has made proposals to the government on how to revive Proton which has seen its share of the car sales dip in recent years.

Proton officials could not be reached for comment.

Mofaz sells imported cars and trucks including Honda, Volkswagen and Chevrolet and is the third group to express an interest in Proton. The other two were Naza Group and DRB-Hicom Bhd.

Proton recently signed a letter of intent with PSA Peugeot-Citroen to evaluate and study possible co-operation. The first round of talks started in September.

Previous negotiations with Germany's Volkswagen collapsed after Proton was unwilling to share control of the company with Volkswagen.

Analysts say Proton needs to find a strong foreign partner to help revive its financial state. It recently reported a 58.6 million ringgit (15.9 million dollar) loss in its first quarter to June.

Proton's market share has fallen steadily in recent years.

©AFP