Proton will be moving upmarket, and will eventually compete with Japanese marques such as Honda and Toyota, and not market leader Perodua. This was mentioned by Proton CEO Li Chunrong at the launch of an upgraded 3S centre in Klang yesterday, reported by The Star.
“Seriously, Perodua’s product range is entry level. Three months later (when Proton’s first SUV is launched), our product would be a higher-end product. For now, Perodua is our competitor but in three months, it won’t be anymore because our products would be different,” Li said, adding that prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently commented that the SUV is of high quality.
“In the future, we will bring in products that are updated, new and equipped with the latest technologies. Not old products but new products that are available elsewhere will come here. We will launch (in Malaysia) at the same time as we launch them around the world,” the Proton chief added.
The report quotes Li as saying that Proton expects its SUV, which will debut in October, to eventually be the best selling SUV in the country. “For this new product, the direct competitor is the (Honda) CR-V. In China, the (Geely) Boyue consistently outsells the other Japanese marques,” he said.
It must be said though that traditionally, Japanese cars aren’t top sellers in China, which is dominated by Volkswagen, GM and local brands. According to reports, Honda sold nearly 750,000 CR-Vs worldwide last year, making it the third most popular SUV globally, and the seventh best selling vehicle of any type in 2017.
Proton’s SUV is based on the facelifted Geely Boyue, which will compete with the CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Nissan X-Trail in our market. Li said that the Boyue has been tailored for Malaysia, with over 20 components changed.
“We are also doing many tests on the SUV before it is launched and that is why we are late. We are now doing test drives on the Malaysian roads which are not complete yet. These are to test for local customer needs,” he said.
With Geely in the driver’s seat, Proton’s turnaround won’t stop at the SUV – the company will launch one new model every year. “We can guarantee we will launch one product every year. For new products, they will be launched at the same time that they are launched in the global markets. In the future, the new products can share the same platform and then they will be tailored to each country’s customer needs and demands to develop the necessary solutions,” Li revealed.
As for the challenges that lie ahead, Li says that Proton’s brand image is a hurdle, and this will be overcome by improved products and services.
“What is branding? It is an image, and how do we improve our image? I think there are two ways: first, product and secondly, service. If you have a good product and good service, then your brand will be well. For an improved brand name, it is not only through talk but by doing it right.
“After-sales service is important and the people, they reflect our corporate culture. The right products and secondly right service that give customer satisfaction,” he said.
Proton has outlined its quality and after-sales improvement initiatives, as well as its target to top Customer Service Index (CSI) rankings within three years. Full story here.
GALLERY: Geely Boyue facelift
Madani was right.
https://paultan.org/2016/08/15/proton-capable-of-being-competitive-global-player-madani/
Bro, talk is cheap. Everyone tom dick can do. End of day mana action? I hope China team can really lead proton and not among among mimpi.
Lel Madani. Test drive Persona, and claim Proton will become competitive global player. End up ditongsankan.
Bodoh as ever, Proton will be competitive thanks to Geely, Madani did nothing to claim credit! His head must roll, overpaid dumb monkey.
menurut Pekema Datuk Zainuddin, jumlah kutipan AP setahun ialah RM350 juta. hanya 20% diagihkan kepada MAI… Hangpa kira agak setimpal le, takdak terlebih boros la…
Proton will do well now because we have a clean Government now and they don’t interfere with Proton like the past
I can only thank Li Chunrung and Tun Mahathir for making Proton a success. Old Government condemned Proton when they “sold” it to DRB
Umm the Old Govt is the one engineered or assist the marriage between Geely & PROTON despite objection from the new govt PM…
Nak jilat pun agak2 lah…
This is petty an arrogant statement. In Business, you need to take baby steps first. In this case, you must lawan your nearest competitor first. And that is Perodua.
This is like Casio. Even before it wants to take on Seiko, it says, I am going to challenge Patek Philippe
Start with baby steps first. Don’t be like the local CEOs who said Proton Waja will be the BMW of Asia and wipe out BMW completely
After Pakatan took over, Proton seems to doing better. Obvious there was so much of interference before
the biggest mistake proton made for so many years before this, was looking at Perodua as a competitor.. constantly trying to produce models to compete with the best selling myvi, etc. when they should have been looking at areas where Perodua do not feature. In the past, when perodua was introduced.. it was already stated then that they are not to be Proton’s competitor. proton should have always targetted up the food chain, especially if it has global intentions.
Tengku Mahaleel did mention the ‘BMW of asia’ thinggy, referring to driving dynamics but when did he ever mention about ‘wiping out BMW completely’?
show us quoted text, or else STFU.
Whenever there is new Proton owners, they are still:
– arrogant bully and highly delusional
– big dreams full of fantasy
– underestimate the rakyat power of boycott
– mocking, disrespect rakyat preference for Perodua
– not once admit mistake and apologise to rakyat the victims
So go ahead Geely just because you can afford to burn billions each year. You think you can repeat your Volvo bravado revival here with Proton? You have no idea how we suffered for past 30yrs and no way we gonna easily forgive and forget all those craps with whatever pimp up cars you may offer.
The battle lines have long being drawn here, all smart rakyat either buy the trusted Perodua or proven Toyota Honda japs cats. And that’s how things works here forever no matter how many billions and billions wasted just to try changing the truth but failed miserably.
Anyway good luck and great fairy tale btw. LoL.
Yep he’s right BUT with the help of mainland China. On its own? Dream on.
Way to go Proton! We have confidence in Proton and CEO Li Chunrong.
CEO Li has turned around Proton in just 6 months what local CEOs could not do in 20 years.
I think, it is high time we get more CEOs like Li Chunrong to run our GLCs so that they too will be more productive.
Agree. 1st must change MOT & MOF to mainlanders cuz local ones taboleh pakai.
Nope. Local ones orso boleh pakai. Kuat promote durian bentong, pergh laku kerasss
That one promo durian until become hot export, got money flow in. Now with current locals, all money flow out. Current locals dunno how to govern. Useless deadwood.
those local GLC CEOs of past government should stop rely on kroni connections to obtain govt projects. So that they too will be more productive and win MY pipu sapot.
This is why foreign CEOs who join MAS all lari. They cannot tahan all the kroni ways.
Proton should have been sold to China 20 years ago. We could have saved over RM10 billion in bailouts.
Also, China would spank Proton into shape and Proton would be earning USD1 billion per month from 2009 itself. More revenue for the Malaysian Government
Is Rajoo Selvam the famous Kunta bin Kinte in disguise? I smell some Kunta seasoning in his comments and this guy is lurking everywhere in paul tan.
Cannot be Kunta Kinte because Kunta was Proton’s No 1 condemner and persecutor. Can see him in every posting past few years.
Above, Rajoo praises Proton. Are you trying to pass fake news here?
Rajoo is one of it, and so many others here as well. After 2-3 comments, the same copy-paste comes out.
We must thank CEO Li and China for saving Proton and saving Malaysia. We are utterly grateful to Li and China for caring for Malaysia and making Malaysia shine again.
We look forward to seeing many Boyues and many Geelys in Malaysia.
Finally Malaysians are getting a good SUV which will force CRV, X Trail and CX5 to lower prices to compete with Boyue.
Smell the positif vibes damm!!
All the best Baoteng CEO Li!
You want true competition? Remove the protection tax
Where wud P1 be without MO1. Long live Geely.
P2 fanbois butthurt lettew
Dr Li Chunrong > jepunis lords
Proton, Geely > all
Yes, this is the aim…compete with the best!!
If u think chinese badged engineered cars could be any better.think again
I understand proton will become upmarket after this. But most of rakyat still looking the car within their budget. lets say RM40k- RM60k. thats why perodua is champion in Malaysia.
so most malaysian from now on will only buy perodua since there are no more competition for cheap cars..LOL
U know u cant beat p2, so just say jipunis as competitor lor.
Can this boyue beat CRV? Make sure rear seat can recline and sound system with premium speakers
Talk about jumping the gun. As the moment, they can’t even make one good car and they are talking about competing with the Japanese.
Perodua was never their competitor as they sell vehicles from a different segment….until Proton started to compete with them.
well, cuz currently the japanese powered perodua is nomero uno
Aku kata dari dulu lagi proton kena ambil ceo asing yang terbaik dalam automotif. Ini ambil orang umno. Memang lingkuplah. Phone maker, xiaomi pun ambil orang luar jadi ceo sebelum ni. Bukan main laju company tu berkembang. Nissan sejak carlos ghosn masuk baru naik balik
Deswai MAS impot coach jerman yg berkaliber
I really truly hope that proton with new management can be an automotive brand every malaysian can be proud of.
Yes we can
Dont worry, now got China brains, sure to do well.
Top 10 Reasons Why Rakyat Prefer Perodua:
10. Perodua never blame rakyat if sales is low .
9. Proven quality dual-vvti engine jimat minyak 20km/liter.
8. Proven quality auto gearbox far cheaper to maintain than those noisy jerking CVT with twice or triple more expensive gear oil .
7. Proven quality timing chain less maintenance unlike timing belt always feel worried every 90,000k mileage.
6. Perodua never re-test its ANCAP car twice if its score 1-star only while giving silly excuse it is for previous and new model.
5. Perodua never give lifetime warranty if it cannot solve the problem.
4. Perodua will always have high RV (resale value) and low RV (regret value).
3. Perodua always keep most its car price below RM60K and never selling RM130K D-segment only to lelong it huge discount a year later effectively killing its RV resale value down to drain for nothing.
2. Perodua never quietly skip or remove top tether safety device only to be caught pants down later .
1. Perodua never annoy buyers by keeping signal stalk on right-side, unlike others with left-side signal as if it can export 1 million units to LHD markets.
Perodua is just an alternative better choice than proton at low price but it does not mean that perodua is really good.
0.9. Perodua sells tin milo cars and rakyat is happy about it. Accidents also they will smile all they way knowing that they have the best car in the world.
0.8. Perodua car’s manufacturing defect’s recall. P2 says ot is not a recall, it is just a quality inspection. Dont every say a bad thing about P2 they will sue you. Rakyat is okay with it as long as they own the best cars in the world
0.7 Expert Jerman auto engineer told them the danger in their optitron meter that dun tell pipu their headlights not ON, but instead P2 scolded the expert Jerman saying they know better how to build cars.
Best john reply ever.
Pipu chose P1 over its local competitor becoz:
15. P1 has alwiz been proud to be a local product, unlike its competitor that malu to admit this instead riding on celup jepunis coattails.
14. Treats customers like customers and not their guineapigs. They roadtest their new cars thoroughly and not just start selling prototypes.
13. Gud and friendly sales, not like its competitor that see u like no money and just tell u “buy or no buy?”.
12. Willing to admit it deficiencies and seeks to improve, like in their recall programs. Its competitor facing axle problems still no recalls.
11. Servicing is fast, not like its competitor SC shaft you to the back becoz of walk-in customers.
10. Campro engine real world FC better than its outdated competitor that drinks petrol like a fish to water.
9. Quicker response at acceleration esp with paddle shifters. Its competitor selow poke Gearbox can hardly accelerate past a bus, making overtakings dangerous.
8. Its competitor noisy rough engine, u need to tekan til revline to get it going which contributes the rough sound.
7. Proven 5 stars AussieNCAP in contrast to its competitor shiok sendiri ASEAN NCAP.
6. P1 has lifetime warranty becoz it has full confidence in its parts.
5. P1 has hi LV (life value) as in contrast to its competitor hi RV (regret value).
4. P1 has proven to hold its sale value by not throwing prices last year in contrast to its competitor that even throws in the kitchen sink, desperate for sales.
3. No axle-gate, nuff said. Oh and no brake judder-gate either. And no cheapsteel-gate either.
2. No uncomfortable seating position with half thigh support, making driving and sitting a literal pain in the rear.
1. Overall, its the better car, nuff said.
I will only buy if price is below RM85k. I think Boyue is more similar to HRV. It is smaller than Toyota Rush(7seater)
nope.its mid size suv.as big as crv
I will tale Boyue if compare to xc90. Both from same manufacturer
Boyue is poormans XC90, but its high standards is by no means reflects on the poormans pricing.
I will buy Boyue if given 10yrs warranty + 10yrs free service.
Go make ur own car with those conditions and i will be ur 1st customer. Ada bolas?
if we have managers and ceos as capableand forward thinking like mr Li managing our country and GCLs, we can move on and no stuck in old times. i am sincerely look forward to test drive that new car.
Nope, never ever again trust Proton.
Better stick with Perodua.
Perodua tatap dihatiku dulu kini selamanya.
Perodua tetap dihatiku terutama bila serpihan airbag tertusuk kat situ.
Just launch the bloody thing already!
Now japanese as competitor pulak? Bukan ke that Rashid guy only look at european as competitor? Now jatuh standard pulak.
Cakap pandai, buat dulu jer baru cakap.
I pun boleh cincai cakap Perodua sees German as competitor, not Proton.
Dont forget u r Made In China, prove first. Cakap jer tak guna. Pls make sure u can monitor our local useless lazy worker to build the car.
Perodua can fight german ah? Geely owned Volvo, Lotus, Lynk n Co., Part of mercedes lei… Perodua owned what?
Totally agree. China already has the technology.
Quality Check for Malaysian lazy workers is more important.
Its a difficult task for proton on meeting its target of top three in CSI. It had been at the bottom three every year for the past 10 years and more without it even realised.
All the best Proton. Going big with Geely is the best decision it has made in years.
Hopefully no political interference with regressive policies reintroduced now that it’s viewed not as a national car anymore.
Proton image was so bad due to PM4 cronyism and bumiputra spoonfed policy. Now PM4 reincarnate to PM7, axing all public transport project and want to introduce 3rd national car project, Malaysia is hopeless.
unconstructive af. typical salty pembangkang komen
So what? You peeps have been salting for 60 years, until become salted fish.
I just bought a new Proton Ertiga and the experience was a total disaster. The procedure to transfer NCD from my old car to the new car takes 3 days. This according to the seller was insurance from different company. When I sold my old car, I must do an “e transfer” where a computerised system to verify car owner and transfer to new ownership. Once that’s done, then it must be acknowledge by the previous insurance company that the driver name have the NCD confirmation. This process takes another day. Then there was the system confirmation which again takes another day. 3;days in total.
The promised delivery schedule date was not met. I did a full upfront payment after my loan was approved. The seller told me they had booked my car upon loan confirmation date. As such it was in their system and delivery were scheduled to arrive within 3 to 4 days from Tanjung Malim plant.
Waited until 6 day today, my new car is still no where to be seen. I was looking forward to driving this new car but now I am extremely upset by Proton Sales and After Services.
You may brag of a new car a year but your current before and after sales sucks. If you wish to know where I bought my Proton Ertiga from, contact me,
I’ll be glad to update you.
I see all those not P1 fault lor. Top half is insurance and gov registration, P1 has no control. Bottom half, u must ask the SA to show u really got booked the car on the date he claimed. Talk to his manager, if you just percaya SA bulat bulat then waterfish lor. And somemore did u do extras like add accessory, and tinting? These takes days and surely not done by P1 but u still blame them, come on!
Sorry, how is insurance transfer a PROTON issue?
Thank you for sharing. We know how painful it is dealing with poor service and low standards everywhere in Bolehland……..
Good luck to ur proton hahahahha
If proton suv really compete with the CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Nissan X-Trail.. mostly people are mampu tengok saja
STARTING AT RM134,384 CR-V
FROM RM 131,000.00 Mazda CX-5
FROM RM 129,289.93 Nissan X-Trail
He not meant competing in price, u noob. Compare the cars itself, and u will find Boyue irresistible.
Nice info. From here we can see (and hope) what is the best price Proton can offer for it’s much awaited SUV.
Proton suv below 100k la bro. Already comfirmed. This car highest spec 4wd only cost 99k ringgit in china, but we wont getting this version, we will be getting the 2wd version. China stuff are usually cheaper alot than japanese and western counterpart, bcos their market is huge.
TAKE NOTE that NISSAN have HUGE PROBLEMS. There are many REASONS of why Nissan have HUGE PROBLEMS. Firstly, Nissan carmakers have CHEATED EMISSION REGULATORS with DEFEAT DEVICES for ALL NISSAN MODELS. Secondly, There are also having MAJOR PROBLEMS for Nissan in which Nissan as a carmaker DIDN’T MEASURE PROPERLY for FUEL EFFICIENCY RATING (FUEL ECONOMY) for ALL NISSAN MODELS which IS MOST LIKELY to AFFECT to the ENVIROMENT. Now, Nissan as a carmaker is becoming NISSAN SCANDAL
Proton SUV 3 variants-
2.0 Standard est 80K
2.0 Exec 86K
1.8T Premium est 94k
Just have 1.8T across all range, premium make it AWD.
And please:
1. NO CVT
2. NO need for those stupid handphone app to use the car
3. NO LCD touch screen on key fob.
4. DONT make the key fob like a stupid handphone that need frequent recharge
Dont be stupid. when he means Boyue competing, means the class they are competing in! internal source said they are aiming at being +/- 30% cheaper than the competitors. now do ur math
Boyue can sell well in Malaysia if the price is similar to China price of RM68,000(can check in Google). If CEO Li intend to position the pricing of Boyue with CRV, I see similar case of the long waited Perdana that fail badly because of the wrong pricing. My advice to P1, quality benchmark against CRV is correct, BUT pricing be 20-30% below Toyoya Rush. Beware that the attractive new Rush model is arriving soon. Good luck to you P1 & CEO Li. Remember this model is the game changer of P1. No mistake allowed.
With the right pricing for Boyue, give Malaysian a chance to test the improvement promised by CEO Li. FYI, Perodua is good in setting a price too good to resist.
What??!!! Cannot la. Suprima S 1.6 turbo RM80k. Boyue muat be at rm100k maa..
Glad to hear that, definitely you Proton can push forward, observed how Volvo evolved, I think its no difference here. Kuddos for your vision and strategy.
Humility, Mr Li Chunrong, is an asset especially in Malaysia. All your hyperbole is theory at the moment. Let your work do the talking. Not your mouth.
Lest you forget, your parent company in Malaysia is also a parts manufacturer, including for that company you think won’t be your competitor in 2019.
Get real, dude.
Bla bla bla…. Given the choice I would prefer Japanese cars than Chinese junk…. How about prove yourself with a solid product first?
So how does Sony pongs compare with Xiomi, Oppo, Huawei, Honor, Vivo?
Is chinese car of any quality?
I find it hard to accept that a multi-billion car manufacturer would build something without any quality. But who knows, it’s still a valid question..
No intervention, no corruption, no nonsense.
Let a free hand to do what is suppose to do and it will flourish.
Hopefully one day we may see one of the Proton’s car, printed in all the major car magazines around the world say’s “It’s a good damn car!”
Sembang memang kencang. Talk is cheap.
Dont praise the new Proton CEO from China so highly! Nobody except a magician can turn around a loss making company such as Proton in 6 months.Nobody!
You guys know it, the Proton SUV is just a rebadged Chinese Geely Boyue and the introduction of new Proton models (supposed to be guaranteed one new model per year)is not a local effort but by Geely itself, combining the engineering prowess of Volvo, Daimler-Benz, Lotus which it owns a stake. He is the “local rep” of Geely not the billionaire owner Mr.Li Shufu.
I would say the starting of the Proton “breakout” as global player would have to still start by beating the local Perodua sales figures. It will eventually overtake Perodua but NOT in the immediate future like next year.
The stupid Dr.M during his negotiation with Lotus didnt read the fine prints, anybody can own Lotus but Lotus technology will not be transferred to the owners only the company changed ownership.If any new owners try to force themself/”rape” Lotus, the Engineers would resign enmassed.That is why we can only have a rebaghed Lotus Exige but yet not own the car technology. We sold Lotus and now it is being owned by Geely.
BS! If anyone of you belief that Proton was turn around in 6 months. We are talking about technology and market but we still need to look at the financials of Proton.
Proton need to train service centre staff not to come words such as “ini proton mah, mau perfect pi beli honda atau toyota lah”
Ironically, this is no longer heard in Proton service centers but from within Toyota & Perodua centers. How times have changed but people’s perception remains.
Yes, you are right! Who want to compare with Perodua? It is just like there is 40pupils in the class, the ranking 40th pupil wants to win the ranking 39th pupil. We must aim high!
I think this young CEO might get it wrong when he said these about brand / image improvement, “there are two ways: first, product and secondly, service. Based on successful competitors or brands with positive image, all of them does not necessarily have top products. But they have provide or have reputation of providing excellent services /customer experience. So here in Malaysia (at least) it should be service first, then product.
Ahhh cakap banyak la proton, cepat la keluar SUV tu aku tak sabar nak test drive ni!!
Perodua sales also Proton cannot beat, want to talk about Japanese. LOL!!!
Why need to compete with small children like Perodua when Proton is an adult will compete with other adults only
Haiz…same as perodua, now proton also become assembly car and no longer manufacture car.
Dr. Li is right. Because Perodua is number one market share at more than 40%. Proton has to challenge Japanese ie. Honda or Toyota for Number 2. You cannot say he’s lying. Cunning fellow