KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd’s (Proton) strategic alliance with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely) in 2017 has started yielding desired results for the national carmaker, in particular product improvements and sales volume.
Corporate strategy and risk management senior director Yusri Yusuf said the partnership had strengthened Proton’s brand in products development with better quality backed by Geely’s advanced technologies.
“Technologies offered by Geely are advanced and this helps us to push Proton forward and elevate the brand better. For example, the connectivity feature (Integrated Cockpit Information System) equipped in Proton X70 is the best element that we can offer to the market.
“We see good take up rate for this connectivity feature and thus we feel this should be offered to all other Proton’s models like the Persona, Iriz and Ezora. These models started to inherit the positiveness of this connectivity feature,” Yusri told the New Straits Times last week.
He said connectivity has been one of the key elements on top of the existing features provided by Proton.
“Our commitment is to provide what the consumers want inline with our promises to the shareholders and to have sustainable approach that we will provide to the consumers and stakeholders,” he added.
Yusri said Proton’s shareholders, DRB-HICOM Bhd and Geely, had set high expectations for the carmaker to uplift its position to be the leader in Malaysia, and third in Asean, while returning to profitability.
“Previously, we were focusing on building the nation’s capability to produce car and showcasing its manufacturing ability.
“But now, we emphasise on the relevance of business and products for consumers, which is to improvise our products and quality including drivability, safety and technology.”
He said it was important for Proton to work closely with its vendors and dealers, while delivering products that are based on consumers’ requirements.
“If we want to go far, we have to go (work) together. We focus on growing our business sustainably together with business partners.
“This ensures that we are on the same page and the pace is set accordingly, allowing us to move forward in accordance with the company’s direction,” he added.
Yusri said the spillover effect particularly from the flagship X70 had improved Proton’s overall image as consumers’ perception towards the brand had changed positively with improved confidence.
He said Proton had developed products and integrated new technologies over the year.
However, the initiative was insufficient for the company to grow as it needed an enabler to leapfrog its position to greater heights.
“Geely offers advanced technology that gives us quicker time to the market in offering such new technologies for engine, safety and electrical and electronic (E&E). It has helped us to regain confidence,” he said.
Typically, he said, consumers’s natural assessment before purchasing a car includes car design, engine (power and fuel efficiency) and safety aspects.
“But now, E&E feature is becoming a key requirement for consumers as they prefer to be connected,” he said.
He cautioned that organic growth was required to keep the momentum up.
“The challenge is to retain consumers’ confidence. But we will continue to offer innovative products with good reliability and expand our market reach beyond Asean,” he said.
Proton is also on track to achieve 100,000 units of sales for 2019, while returning to second position in the local automotive market.
As of November this year, Proton delivered 89,476 units with a market share of about 16.2 per cent. The majority of the sales was contributed by the Saga, having sold a total of 34,422 units.
Proton’s sales in the last four years had been on a downtrend with 103,210 cars delivered in 2015, 72,634 units in 2016, 71,239 in 2017 and 64,744 units in 2018.
Proton chief executive officer Dr Li Chunrong reportedly said the company was on track to break even this year and set to become profitable in 2020, contributed by bigger sales volume.
With over 9,000 employees, Proton expects to sell 400,000 cars per year by 2027 to be in the top three car manufacturers in the region.
Malaysia is also expected to be the right-hand drive production hub as the country was the “bridge”, linking Geely to expand its horizon in Southeast Asia.