Malaysia's Proton says Volkswagen tie-up talks off

Malaysian national carmaker Proton said Monday that Volkswagen AG will not collaborate with it because the German automaker "has other priorities," the second time talks between the two have failed, sending Proton's shares down more than 5 percent.

Proton said in a statement that Volkswagen "would be an interesting collaboration partner," but Volkswagen has declined during preliminary talks to partner up with Proton.

"Volkswagen confirmed that it currently has other priorities," the statement said. It did not elaborate, and a spokeswoman could not immediately give further details.

Proton said it would continue to …