Malaysia's national carmaker Proton ties-up with Japan's Suzuki to expand compact car business

Malaysia's struggling national carmaker Proton is joining forces with Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. in its latest bid to boost sales.

Proton on Monday inked a memorandum of understanding and license agreement with Suzuki to "form a long term strategic collaboration and partnership."

Proton Chairman Mahathir Mohamad, who is a former prime minister of Malaysia, said partnership details will be ironed out by next year.

He said Proton may initially sell rebranded Suzuki models before exploring the possibility of jointly developing new models in the long run.

Loss-making Proton, once king of the road in Malaysia, is struggling to boost sales after its fortunes dwindled due to greater foreign competition.