This puts Volkswagen in a tough situation because it cannot acquire a brand or even part of a brand if it doesn't get the proverbial nod of approval from its workers.
"Even though further sales and production sites in south-east Asia are important, there is no support from the labor side for a purchase of Proton," affirmed Osterloh in an interview with Handelsblatt. "We already have 12 brands and we first have to stabilize the group," he added without elaborating.
As part of its ambitious quest to become the world's largest automaker by 2018, Volkswagen went on a buying spree and recently acquired Porsche, motorcycle maker Ducati, as well as Scania and MAN, two European truck manufacturers. Purchasing all or part of Proton would enable the German automaker to increase its presence in growing markets such as India.
