Proton Holdings, Malaysia’s privately-owned first national car company, is expected to sign a new strategic partnership with a foreign vehicle manufacturer at the end of March 2017, a government official told local reporters this week.

In June 2016 Proton sent out invitations to 14 international carmakers to discuss a potential strategic partnership and has already held preliminary talks with most of them.

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Deputy international trade and industry minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan is reported to have stated that Proton is currently carrying out in-depth evaluations of 2-3 potential partners it has shortlisted and is expected to enter into a formal partnership at the end of the current financial year.

Datuk Ahmad added that a new partnership will help Proton become a viable and competitive carmaker at international level.

Proton has lost its dominance of its home market over the last 20 years and exports have also fallen to a trickle as the company struggled to keep up with rising technical requirements of key overseas markets.

Perodua, the country’s second national car company which has Daihatsu as its foreign partner, has taken over as the country’s dominant carmaker in recent years.

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In the first nine months of 2016, Proton sold just over 50,000 cars in Malaysia to claim a 13.5% share of the country’s passenger vehicle market. This compares with its 70% market share in the mid-1990s. Perodua sold 150,000 vehicles in the same period to claim a market share of over 40%, while Honda sold more than 63,000 vehicles.