Volkswagen is looking for a new Asian partner and is focusing on Indonesia and Thailand after talks with the Malaysian group Proton broke down, according to media reports on Wednesday.

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According to Agence France Press (AFP), the German business daily Handelsblatt quoted VW sources as saying that research teams from the car giant were ready to begin looking at possible partners.


A Volkswagen spokesman told AFP in Frankfurt on Tuesday that the group was now looking for “new commitments” in Southeast Asia.


On Tuesday, Malaysia’s state investment arm Khazanah Nasional, which controls Proton, said it had ended talks with VW.


The German group said in a statement it and the Malaysian government had decided “to shelve their joint talks” for the time being.

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