KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia plans to team up with Iran and Turkey to jointly develop what they called the world's first "Islamic" car, complete with features for Muslims, for the world market, Malaysia's Bernama news agency said.
The car will incorporate features such as a compass to determine the direction of Mecca for prayers as well as compartments for storing the Koran and headscarves, it quoted the head of Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings as saying.
"We will identify a car that we can develop and produce it in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey," Proton Chief Executive Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, on a visit to Iran, said.
"For Proton, we are more than happy because we have products that we can share," he said, adding that the move could help Proton cut down development costs, increase production volume and improve its economies of scale.
In August the state-controlled company reported its fifth straight quarterly loss, as sales continued to slide and its search for a global industry partner dragged on without success.
The Malaysian government has indicated it is willing to sell a stake in Proton to a global car maker and has been in separate talks with Volkswagen and General Motors, but so far no agreement has been reached.
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Proton, a car company in Malaysia has announced that it plans to begin building a car specifically for Muslims.

They will work with other car makers in Iran and Turkey to build an "Islamic" car, which would the first car of its kind and will be unlike any other car on the world's market.

"What they (Iran) want to do is to call that an Islamic car. We will identify a car that we can develop and produce it in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey. For Proton, we are more than happy because we have products that we can share," said Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, the chief executive of Proton. The idea was originally proposed by Iran.

Features are to include a compartment for the person's headscarf and Qur'an as well as a compass that will constantly point in the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Currently, Volkswagen which is headquartered in Germany, is in negotiations to partner with Proton and American automaker General Motors Corporation. Proton has been posting financial losses, with over US$160 million lost in 2007 alone.