Proton versus Rover: A Business History Approach

The objective of this paper is to present some comparative findings on Proton, a carmanufacturer in Malaysia and Rover Group, a British automobile manufacturer. Thepaper used a ‘Business History’ methodology tracking the exploits of the two firmsfrom 1980 to 2000. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with two key informants– Nadzmi Salleh, former CEO of Proton and John Towers, the former CEO of RoverGroup. Apart from that, the study also utilized secondary documents from varioussources such British Aerospace and Honda Swindon. Proton and Rover are sources ofnational pride for Malaysia and England respectively. Yet their financial performanceover time were said to be poor. Some efforts by the respective governments and themanagement of the two firms to improve the performance in both firms were highlighted.In terms of the current status of both firms, Proton is still surviving but Rover has beendefunct since 2005.