Vendors of Proton have raised concerns that China's Geely Automobile Holding Ltd's acquisition of 49.9 percent stake in Proton Holdings Bhd may cause more suppliers of the national car to shut down their businesses.

The industry, which has been suffering from the plummeting sales of Proton cars in the past five years, with some vendors forced to close shop, may be further impacted after the deal takes effect and Geely brings in its own vendors and strategic partners.

"Five years ago, Proton sold 12,000 cars per month, but now it is only 5,000 to 6,000 cars a month. Some vendors closed down because they were affected by the drastic drop in sales volume," explained a vendor.

The vendors opted to speak on condition of anonymity, so as to not jeopardise their business relationship with Proton.

Several vendors said that at this point of time, without the terms and conditions of the deal struck between Geely and Proton owner DRB Hicom Bhd disclosed, they were not sure whether Proton would restructure the car supply chain.

However, the vendors strongly believe some of them would be excluded from Proton's supply chain as Geely may choose its designated vendors from China and other countries...