Proton chief executive Mahaleel Ariff was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying that the deals may involve a minimum of 100,000 Campro engines for carmakers in Europe and Asia but he did not identify the potential buyers. The report said they could be Proton's partners in China, Iran and Britain. The Malaysian carmaker already has plants in China and Iran, operated with local partners, and will soon open a plant in Indonesia. Proton aims to raise production four-fold to more than 12,000 vehicles at its Iran plant this year to tap the Middle East market and its Chinese plant is expected to roll out cars by middle of next year, the newspaper said. However, Mahaleel said it would take some time before Proton could export the Campro engine as it must first fulfil domestic demand for its new generation 1.6-litre Gen.2 car, which has seen a backlog of orders stretching up to six months since its launch in February. It also faces a shortage of engine cylinder heads and is in discussion with its Australian supplier to increase monthly production from 2,000 sets now to 5,000 sets by July, he said. Proton plans to double production of the Gen.2 to more than 6,000 a month or 80,000 a year by end-March 2005, from 3,000 a month currently, he added. Separately, former premier Mahathir Mohamad who was recently appointed adviser to Proton after retiring in October, was quoted as saying he was hopeful Proton could conclude a deal with a foreign partner by the end of 2004. He reiterated that Proton was "not a cheap company that is about to die" and it must not be surrendered to foreign control as it would jeopardise Malaysia's status as an auto manufacturer. There is "no need to rush as Proton is still healthy. Proton is still viable so we have to be selective," he said. "We need to evaluate things very carefully. If you get the wrong partner, you'll get into worse trouble." Mahaleel over the weekend said Proton was in talks with three foreign firms, including Britain's MG Rover group, for possible tie-ups. State investment arm Khazanah Nasional, the single largest shareholder, is said to be considering plans to allow a foreign carmaker to hold up to 20 percent in Proton after Japanese giant Mitsubishi Motors bailed out recently. Trading house Mitsubishi Corp. still holds another 7.9 percent in Proton and is believed to be in talks to sell it to Khazanah. Analysts have said it could be a long search for a Proton partner unless the government was willing to trade in its dream of a national car industry for a pragmatic foreign tie-up. Proton used to sell six out of 10 new cars in the country but its market share plunged to 49 percent in 2003 from 60 percent in 2002 as sales tumbled to 155,420 units. PIN/AFP