Proton says that in terms of quality and branding, Perodua is no longer its immediate competitor. Rather, the national carmaker is now aiming to go head-to-head with the likes of Toyota and Honda.
According to Proton CEO Li Chunrong, with the company having made great strides in improving its quality, it is looking beyond these shores and taking the fight to global players. In an exclusive interview with Channel News Asia earlier this week, he said that while Proton had previously faced quality issues, this was no longer the case, with the significant inroads having been made in this area giving the automaker new impetus.
“That (quality issues) was the problem with Proton before, they did not have the resources to (look into quality). But now with the expertise and the resources from Geely as well as the experience of Proton as a national carmaker, we would be able to produce better quality cars. With our new product position, our competitors are Honda and Toyota,” he stated.
Li said that he is looking at Proton to focus on the finer aspects of vehicle development so it can make the transition from building “basic cars” to “high-end cars,” something that is part of the 10-year plan that has been envisioned for the brand.
He added the turnaround efforts over the past two years have propelled Proton far beyond its local counterpart in terms of market positioning, if not in numbers. “Perodua is not even our competitor (anymore). Why? Because of different product position. Our Saga is much better than their Bezza,” he claimed.
Li said that public trust in the brand was renewed after the introduction of the X70 SUV last year, and is reflected in the strong demand for the facelifted Saga, which was launched in August. The report adds that the company, which has been in the red for many years, is expected to break even this year and make profits next year.
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As i say b4, P1 alredi is no more national car maker but now an international car maker. P1 has moved out of the kampung while letting the jaguh kampung continue to crow in the kampung. Let them be, its time to go global!
P1, Geely, Mesidis, Volvo, Lotus > all
So last time in few years back, Honda used to be better quality than Toyota, P1 and Nissan
As for now, Honda is no longer to be better QC than Toyota, P1, especially for Nissan referring to FB, can see many complaints about after-sales services and car quality
P1 is still not an international maker yet. They need to prove themselves in many major markets first. Maybe start off with selling the new models in SG, Aussie etc for a start. If all goes well, they’ll finally be a carmaker we’re can be proud of
Meanwhile member2 kampung dem bangga ngan seken Toyota Velfire, Alphard and Honda Odyssey bila balik kampung … until diorang upgred to Proton Mpv Jiaji. Org kg sapot local …
This is trully a game over statement. When you want to be a game changing carmaker, you should compete with your closest rival first (Perodua), not arrogantly compete againts world class carmaker like Toyota and Honda. Moreover, Proton quality is worse than Perodua, how to compete with Toyota and Honda then?
Copy paste: “Sales alone say the rakyat is again accepting Proton and trust in their quality. Do I bilip 1 keyboard warrior OR 1 million happy Proton owners?”
I owned a brand new honda civic less than 2 years old… Ive got several issues involving qualities.. Now the steering rack problem…before that absorbers failed, water got leaked into the rear bonet… Rattling dashboard sound… So frustrated for the car priced 100k ++ …. For your information ive drove cars b4 brand proton, perodua, toyota and i would say honda is quality worst.. Fact!!
Perodua is only suitable for those B40 or BT10 people who are satisfied with low quality, not Perodua with good quality.
now drive x70 and park in front kenduri house, no need park far far..hahah
Proton owners are more considerate to others. They will park sufficiently far so it doesn’t bother their host. Unlike bodoh-sombong Japanese car owners, thinking they are so big to park in front of host doorway during gathering for CNY. This is not just about cars but about cultural mentality.
This is the same story like how Proton said they were the BMW of Asia and Proton cars (the Waja) was better than any BMW in town
Syiok sendiri syndrome.
Eat your heart out.
Its the only left for him to eat. He has eaten his brains long time ago.
Well done Proton. Lucky China came and helped you. Li Chunrong and Geely, within 6 months could identify all the leakages Proton had, what local CEOs could not identify in 30 years.
This is why we need more foreign CEOs from Mainland to come into Malaysia to help run our GLCs and even Putrajaya. We will see a 10 fold increase in productivity and we will become FIRST World soon.
Thank you Li Chunrong for planning for Malaysians and planning for Proton’s future.
At least now, Proton can finally make money after 20 years being in the red
This is not a place for u to show your racism laa
and rob off all the fortunes away to mainland.. he he..
That problem isn’t Bumi policy. You go see many Bursa top performers and they are helmed by Muslims. The problem was Madey had put his useless cronies who just happened to be Malay (except that guy in Mega Steel, he isn’t Malay yet he still failed? Why?). That and his constant meddling which killed many potential companies & businesses. Go see deeper what are the common thread for their failures, not just skin-deep (or in your case, skin-colour).
There are also many stupid chinese pimps n drug dealers who spoil the nation bro
Agree mate. P1 is no longer our national car. It is basically a Chinese carmaker with DRB as major shareholder. Thats it. All local vendor will be expelled soon since competing the cost with Chinese vendors are impossible and top management of P1 will be filled with mainlanders.
Syabass X70 Ckd start harini! Bos proton Dr Li mantap habiss, rajin keje 12jam everiday. Last time, ikut bos2 DRB memang xboleh nk harap laa.
Weekend pun dia kerja…
Apa boleh buat? Bos DRB pun ikut je bos tua kerepot nyanyuk.
Syed Mokthar muda lagi ler.
Maybe he means Khamil Jamil lol…
Bos Syed Mokthar siapa? Siapa dok opis kat tingkat 86 di KLCC?
At least p1 realize they will never can beat p2. So now they go compete with toyota n honda simply because they win sales volume against them(well its not about quality btw).
While humble n low profile p2 never wanna against anybody. They know they are always the best for rakyat. And rakyat knows too p2 is the best for them. Well done perodua.
Wakakakkaa… Must be one of those living in their little bubble…. Ok then… What ever make u happy… Wakakaka
Why fake ur smile brother. Ur face smiling with kemarahan dan kemurungan. Why brother? Marah ke dengan komen puji perodua brother. Wakakakaka! Janji ko happy dengan kemarahan dan kemurungan ko la brother. Ciaooo. Wakakaka!
At least P2 fanboy realize they always failed to read headlines completely before they blindly bash. You can see that 1 isn’t bothered to compare with P2 anymore in terms of quality and they are targeting the quality jugulars of both Toyota & Honda. Further they arent targeting ASEAN Toyota & Honda because honestly, they are truly horrible quality. No, Proton is aiming to top Toyota & Honda’s global quality standards.
Plotong quality is already number 1 lousy tahap gaban tp ada hati nak compete toyota honda. Compete sales figure jer kot. Mimpi jer byk plotong nih. Compete wif perodua mmg dh tak layak dh, dh kena lanyak perodua habis2 dh. Plotong bkn tak nak compete ngn perodua, sbb tak tercabar langsung dh, perodua is untouchable, plotong not even have a chance. Sorry to say plotong dh bankrap pun moment sebelum geely takeover. Jual pung gung g china baru survive.
Uncomfortable seat, small bonnet, bumpy ride. Malaysian people is too stupid to be critical. Just like ayam goreng mcd. Sedap? Taste like an overseason kfc doesnt make u sedap ok. And that low quality seaso . Blergh. Yet peole said its sedap. Typical malaysian.
U tok kok ar? rambutans sales no matter how good also useless, China market now eat musang king, SH.
U mean ur face look like musang?
Haha good one. He is a musang from china. Sesat in mesia.
When people call you a troll, they don’t mean you look like one even if you do look like one.
This belacan does not, and I repeat does not represent me by saying “And rakyat knows too p2 is the best for them” but I will consider if this belacan changes statement to “And rakyat knows too that the base manual standard model p2 is the best cheapest for them”
I fully agree! P2 all the way!
Just let p1 fantard bash n bash n bash. We not kacau them but they angry2 themselve and jealous of p2 achievement. Its ok bro we all with u. Those basher was crying with anger while typing their denial words toward p2 success. Their faca red and eyes swollen while read your best comment. P2 all the way. Up up and away. Oh yesss.
Perodua is only suitable for those B40 or BT10 people who are satisfied with low quality, not Perodua with good quality.
I believe perodua fanboys will start the discussion here hahaha
Come join discuss at FB luu
Is the CEO so sure about Proton’s quality? I bought the new Saga and already encountered 3 problems. One problem resolved after going to service dealer twice.. squeaky boot spring. Another one is an irritating noise coming from the dashboard still unresolved! Probably need to go to another service center with better expertise to help me. I also hear a lot of noise coming from the engine bay too..not sure if it’s the Campro engine or the aircon system. Can someone give me the CEO’s phone number so that I can share my problems with him?
Bro bro , no car is perfect , Aku beli civic 1.8 x sampai 4 months my Headunit gone , when I asked Honda they said some kind of fuse blow after that there was extra wind noise and found the rubber around the 2 back door got problem and they replaced it and the last one my river side windscreen not allign .. need to send may be for next service .. doesn’t means Civic I teruk .. these are the basic things bro ..
Are you sure you bought a Saga when you can’t even tell it no longer uses Campro engine? Wait you sound like those competitor salesman. Are you even genuine? I don’t believe anyone could plonk tens of thousands RM and they don’t know what they’re buying. I’m calling out your fake, sir.
no longer use Campro engine? are you serious?
Is the new 2019 facelifted Saga still using CAMPRO? I thought they are using similiar engine as in IRIZ?
Which is why his story here is full of holes, I find that unbelievable (I would outright said he is lying but I’m a good person).
Not just u bro. There are already too many complaint about squeky sound from inside proton cars. Irritating. Proton SC will not care for u one. Cos u already bought the car. If the car can be return n refund then they will work hard like and scare bankrap.
Wow so many pretentious experts here. All proton cars except for the rebadged ones use Campro engines! It’s a family of engines!! Campro, Campro CPS, Campro CFE and now Campro VVT.. They’re all Campro engines you nitwits.. Same block, similar head bolt pattern. How do I know this? I’ve gotten a Campro IAFM rebuilt with a CPS head and ECU but using the stronger (but shorter) Campro CFE forged crankshaft. A lot of these parts are interchangeable because the engine architecture is basically the same, derived largely from the 4G18 of the pre-Campro Waja.
man of culture spotted…
it’s not the engine or aircond. it is the PROTON
Ohh waii dreaming high again p1 oh p1. Dreaming wanna compete with toyota and honda quality? Its like the moon wanna compete with the sun. Your x70 is already a poor quality product with the most problems product by JD survey. Apa lagi those poor quality saga persona iriz. Very poor fuel consumption. When still new good consumption, after 2 years fuel consumption demmmm high.
Can someone tell me why should I believe in a paid survey by a profit-oriented company that is soon to exit the market because nobody trust their surveys enough to pay for it? Can anyone?
Wowww great. Lets compare;
1. Saga vs Vios n City
2. Iriz vs Yaris n Jazz
3. Persona vs Altis n Civic
4. Perdana vs Camry n Accord
5. X70 vs Harrier n Crv
Great. Wait for result.
Magnum bila mass A segment sedan compete gan B ..
1. Persona vs Vios n City (B Segment)
2. Iriz vs Yaris n Jazz (B Segment compact)
3. Preve vs Altis n Civic (C Segment, But preve mmg day nak stop all , Geely is bringing a new sedan on 2021)
4. Perdana vs Camry n Accord
5. X50 vs H-RV n Rush (B segment SUV)
6. X70 vs n Crv (C Segment SUV and Harrier cannot be in the list because its a D Segment SUV)
Basically there no A segment sedan like Sage with others ..
City upgrade to saga, vios
Jazz upgrade to iriz, yaris
Civic upgrade to persona, altis
Accord upgrade to perdana, accord
Crv upgrade to rav4, x70
City upgrade to saga, vios
Jazz upgrade to iriz, yaris
Civic upgrade to persona, altis
Accord upgrade to perdana, camry
Crv upgrade to rav4, x70
Preve vs altis vs civis. Persona b segment
How to compare harrier with x70 & crv, not in the same segment. Toyota should bring RAV4 to compete with those 2.
The joke is that some people think Toyota & Honda still have a quality edge. No they don’t, not anymore. Their cars are worse than they used to if you read user reviews in carbase.my
For sure gerenti 110% wif waranty proton are the all time loser. Kahkahkah!
Come come buy saga wif free insuran, free umbrella, free minum kopi, free baju hujan.
35,000 disproved you. Should I believe only you or the 35,000?
35000 or 3000? https://paultan.org/2019/04/02/proton-ends-q1-2019-with-record-figures-2979-x70-sold-in-march-highest-ever-suv-sales-in-msian-history/
Copy paste: “the facelifted Saga has also been a stellar performer for the brand this year, contributing 70% to the company’s overall sales. Since its launch in August, the car has recorded more than 35,000 bookings”
220k disapproved you. Should i believe u for ur fake news? Or 220k?
Thank you China Geely for making Geely great again in Malaysia. Hope to see more Geely cars on Malaysian roads.
Let business run itself…incompetence politicians, sons, siblings stay away. You all garbages.. take your life and money from other sources..
Business fuel with talents not by empty speech or bandits power grab.
Just as incompetent as your grammar.
hey klia, in many places grammar has no meaning technical & manufacturing position. I’ve been in US Jap Chinese korean company- with my broken english- and seen many GM bosses- expert talent who never speak english properly- hire translators.
Taletnt/competence & english grammar not synonymous
Hopefully all goes well with proton.
Waiting for those bashers,troll and cybertroopers.
Proton is using Geely cars to compete Toyota and Honda. Lol but that being said, at least we get better quality cars now.
Luckily not Volvo quality….. proton dont want to benchmark Geely Volvo…wind blowing….
Milo tin car benchmark Milo tin cars like Toyota and Honda. LOL
Didn’t know this Li Chunrong is also a comedian. Thanks for the joke of the week.
In his career, Dr Li worked in close partnership with Peugeot, Honda, Nissan, KIA. He knows exactly what he saying when he is confident to take on Toyota and Honda quality-wise.
Alan, don’t pretend you knew about him before he came here to talk kok lah. Just admit you read his experience and then made him out to be your messiah, LOL.
Go look into his Linkin lah, dont just talkin kok&bull stories about someone you dont know.
Dare to dream ?
Every great success begins with a dreamer!!!
To be the best is to beat the best. Bye bye P2. LCR said, Our Saga is much better than their Bezza. Beza, memang berbeza.
then the price also need compete with Honda and Toyota, not Perodua.
Govt please take away all the support, they can run on their own.
All preferential treatment has been removed from Proton ever since their half got sold to Geely. It is the reason why their car prices are coming down despite everyone else is increasing their prices.
I mean Honda and Toyota as the same level as national car status. Than we can judges.
Brother, they edi competing in price lorr.
X70 full spec – RM123k
CR-V equivalent – RM163k
If gomen remove support, Perodua will make noise since their Aruz will then priced to compete with BRV and if that happens, nobody will buy it lorr. Think lorr brother who will suffer when car prices increase later.
Quality same as Toyota and Honda, price same as Perodua. U still support Perodua then U SH laa…
2019 Saga is indeed much better car than 2016 Bezza…
But not sure if its still the case when 2020 Bezza launch next year…
Hhahah …how is this Geely going to make Proton compete with Honda/Toyota when their own CBU model scores so badly in JD Power?
Btw, before Geely, Proton was competing with Continental brands and Japanese wasn’t in sight. Why downgrade now?
Saga is better than bezza? In term of sales u are not. U need a proper city and vios beater to compete with T and H and yet u havent had any.
In my experience, majority of Saga drivers are better than majority of Bezza drivers. Because when we drive up behind them on the right lane, most Saga drivers get the hint that they don’t belong on the fast lane.
Bezza drivers on the other hand…. aduh…. real a-holes who refuse to move left and choose to hog the right lane with their puny engines.
I hope Perodua addresses these issues come the Bezza facelift. Like having potential buyers pass an IQ test before being allowed to buy a Bezza.
Traffic jam always caused by Perodua drivers
That is the problem with Proton. It takes someone with IQ and EQ to decide on buying a Proton, and unfortunately there are plenty of rakyat with no sense whatsoever who blindly go for Perodua or crappy japanese cars. If they had IQ and EQ they could have seen how much better Proton cars are compared to these japanese branded junks. We really should educate our rakyat and the young to make the correct choice and not just blindly buy. Sigh….
perodua gulung tikar already, game over perodua with game changer proton
As long as people still buy axia, bezza myvi alza and aruz, perodua is always make money, people happy with the car, no need bailout..
Try fight a Toyota’s reliability
technically not a national carmaker.
not allowed to enjoy the lower excises but still able to do so. why? no idea.
stop playing cheat and price your products fairly then we’ll get a more accurate number of actual competitiveness.
Ouch. Many P2 fanbois will butthurt on this. They will rage and shout about how many more P2 are sold Vs P1, Jepunis high technology Vs China technology.
Tak apa lah. Bagi dia orang Syiok sedikit.
Best laugh is, they’re reading and replying with a Made in China handset. LOL
To good to be true..
1. Saga = rm80k
2. Iriz = rm80k
3. Persona = rm130k
4. Perdana = rm200k
5. X70 = rm170k
so next year P1 will increase price for compete T&H…hohoho
I just bought my 1st proton for my wife .. I chose persona fullspec.. The highest among the trim.. I was expecting the quality to be at least on par with the perodua that it supposed to replace..at 5000kmon the odometer, it hs non stop rattling sound from teh dashboard… Went to Proton Edar Plentong Johor, and to set an appt for ratification.. Was denied as they only accept to do the ratification from monday to thursday ONLY… I came on Friday… They said can’t do from Friday till Sunday… And have to book early, 1 week prior… Now I’m stuck with a new proton persona with less tha. 10k on the odometer with non resolved rattling issue… So do I need to take my limited annual leave just to settle this issue??i took the leap of faith n bought a proton.. And this is what I get
I drive my company’s base, CVT persona. Bought October 2017, now clocked 72K km. No rattling dashboard and real world fuel consumption is around 14.7km/L.
Kind of hard for me to buy your dashboard story.
There are always non-believers like you around.
There are always bored competitor salesmen like you around
Hi Geely, this my father/mother/uncle/sister/makcik ..etc own a Proton and everything is ok except minor issue” is being overused. The rakyat know how bad your car is. Even your CBU X70 quality is acknowledged as bad.
I just bought my 1st proton for my wife .. I chose persona fullspec.. The highest among the trim.. I was expecting the quality to be at least on par with the perodua that it supposed to replace..at 5000kmon the odometer, it hs non stop rattling sound from the dashboard… Went to Proton Edar Plentong Johor, and to set an appt for ratification.. Was denied as they only accept to do the ratification from monday to thursday ONLY… I came on Friday… They said can’t do from Friday till Sunday… And have to book early, 1 week prior… Now I’m stuck with a new proton persona with less than 10k on the odometer with non resolved rattling issue… So do I need to take my limited annual leave just to settle this issue??i took the leap of faith n bought a proton.. And this is what I get
Rattling sound small issues make you regret buying a Proton. However, the transmission cannot be changed in Myvi, and the owner never regrets buying Myvi.
Why? Because they said goodbye to us after the accident.
dream on lah. perodua proven and tested the better car for the long run. geely has only been here for a little over 2 years.
If not wrong, recent report puts Toyota and Honda above Proton maybe the reason why they were quoted, anyway copying is the hugest compliment.
wait one day when unfair tax barrier(free market pricing) removed on foreign brand, then rakyat’s purchase volume will speaks…. have fun then…..
This chinaman is living in his own fantasy world. After sales service is still a pain. Heck, even the My Proton app is faulty and crashes when owners want to schedule for service! Just look at their app store rating! Can’t even get the basics correct but dreaming of taking on Honda and Toyota. Pathetic.
RB1 & RB2 & soon to come RB3
REBADGE1 & REBADGE2 & soon to come REBADGE3
This LCR is typical China Chinese. Be humble Li. Or hire a good PR person.
Competition is what makes you drive ahead. And whether you like it or not, your consumers choose between you and P2. To identify them as not your competitors means you’re not listening. The best selling car in Malaysia is still, in spite of all your progress, is the Myvi.
P2 is the one above you, and you’re just number 2. To get to number 1, you need to beat them so they ARE your competitor.
Nothingof the sort
Lets see… dont brag so much 1st. Proton needs to prove that its quality will match or surpass its competitors’. Dont jump into a short sighted conclusion they are the best just becoz they did the right thing in the 1st time. And dont forget proton models other than x70 are just changing its apparels n not the engines technology. Fuel consumption ???
Fuel consumption is not related to quality, friend. You know the cars with best FC? Those that are stranded in workshops, if they never move, they never consume fuel. So Perodua very fuel savings? That tells you something no?
“Now competing” and “now aiming” 2 very different things
shameless proton, last time wanted to become ‘bmw’ of asia, now wanna compete with toyota and honda pula…try to compete with perodua 1st la you arrogant idiots….if additional taxes removed from foreign car brands both proton and perodua will close shop
You stupid or something? He is clearly saying Proton has now surpassed Perodua in quality and going for the throats of Honda and Toyota. Why should Proton aim for something inferior it already surpassed? Bodoh.
Toyota is still far better than proton, if its the same price than proton, I choose Toyota
So let’s price it the same and see the ‘quality’.
Saga 75k~85k
Persona 80~90k
X70 150k~180k
Exora 110k~130k
Perdana 170k~190k
Buyers will judge its worth. Don’t just talk and still price-fighting majority with Perodua.
because perodua quality is way superior?
Can proton even reach world number 4 reliability ranked which now taken by Subaru (Easy head gasket bang car brand) ? Might possible one day and now proton got their attitudes right which target them self to higher ranked cars and keep improving, of course perodua make laoyaa cars which failed to compare at the beginning…
To win Honda is easy as those assemble in Malaysia quality is sucks.
Compete dengan honda?? Repair dlu signal stick. Lampu utama terpadam tanpa sedar bila sentuh bg signal kiri atau kanan. Sgt low quality. Gearbox Hyundai juga x perform