Former Malaysian premier reiterates Proton’s commitment to Malaysians following launch of ‘My New Proton’ campaign
Proton took the Malaysian automotive circle by surprise earlier this week when its CEO, Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah, boldly admitted that the company’s service ‘sucks’.
It was neither a disloyal remark nor a desertion of hope, but rather a long-overdue realisation by the national carmaker of its faults, which were more deeply rooted in its aftersales services than its cars.
The newfound humility set the tone for the ‘My New Proton’ strategy aimed at repairing public perception and improving the ownership experience of its customers. It includes longer operating hours, courtesy cars and pick-up and delivery services at selected outlets, as well as an 80-minute service time promise, among other new initiatives.
This move is a huge step forward at a time where the saying ‘honesty is the best policy’ rings true to the automotive industry. But as Proton has found out already, Malaysians aren’t an easy lot to convince. Has Proton really come to its senses at last?
It certainly seems like it based on an interview we had with Proton chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. In his welcoming remark, the former Malaysian prime minister was quick to admit that “there are reasons why Proton isn’t doing well”.
“Basically, it’s about the windows not working, and some of the parts that do not function well,” he said, citing age-old complaints from Proton’s past customers as one of the factors behind the brand’s poor image in the public eye.
Mahathir is aware that the problems did extend into Proton’s newer products, confessing that “the Prevé was launched too early without proper testing”. The Prevé was launched in April 2012, only three months after DRB-Hicom’s acquisition of Proton. It failed to live up to its global aspirations and has become one of the reasons why the upcoming Proton Perdana, which is built on the platform of the previous-gen Honda Accord, was not launched last year.
Tun Mahathir agrees that the Prevé was rushed into production but most major problems have since been rectified
“I wanted to launch it last year. But they said no, you cannot. I said if you wait too long people will lose interest. They said it’s better to wait long and make sure we have a good car on the road than to be with the Prevé before, where people pushed the start button and it goes right through. Nothing behind.”
“People bought the car, drove 200 yards and it broke down. We spent one whole year and couldn’t sell a single Prevé because of this reputation,” he said. “Overcoming that reputation takes time but you see many Prevé on the road now. People are asking for the Prevé.”
Despite Proton’s best efforts at improving its cars and rectifying its issues, its sales books still tell an unconvincing story, with a current market share of 15 percent being a far cry from the 1990s during which the company consistently dominated more than half the country’s market.
“We have done a lot of things but we are still bugged by a bad reputation so we are going to listen to people on their criticism and will take action to correct whatever failures we have made in Proton.”
Naturally, this recovery is not going to happen overnight. But one genuinely good car might drive Proton further up the right path. And it has three new models in store for us this year – the Perdana, Persona and Saga. Put the company’s recent partnership with Suzuki in the mix and we have some interesting times to look ahead, whether or not you’re convinced at Proton’s new approach to the increasingly unforgiving Malaysian automotive market.
We’re definitely keeping our eyes peeled.