Earlier this month, Proton celebrated the 35th anniversary of its first car, the Saga. It had already been a long journey since Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed mooted the idea of a national carmaker in the late ’70s, and the launch of the affordable sedan on July 9, 1985, was a culmination of the premier’s dream.
In the intervening decades, the company evolved from producing rebadged Mitsubishis to designing and engineering cars under its own power. It hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions, as Proton struggled with the ever-changing direction of a succession of management teams. Still, the fundamental strength and competence of its design department should not be underestimated.
One person who has been steadfast throughout is Azlan Othman. The design boss was as fresh-faced as they came when he joined Proton not long after graduating, after a stint at one of its vendors. The year was 1997 – the Petronas Twin Towers began operations, Radiohead’s landmark album OK Computer hit the shelves, and Southeast Asia was in the grips of a severe financial crisis.
New beginnings, on the cusp of change
At the time, Proton was putting the finishing touches on its two “performance” models, the Satria GTi and the Perdana V6, and was already well into the development of its first car designed in-house, the Waja. Like many of its contemporaries, the company was entering the world of digitalisation and was looking to build expertise in computer-aided design and engineering software such as Catia and Alias.
“They bought the systems, but they didn’t really know what they do with them,” Azlan chuckled. “Engineering-wise, they were very clear, they wanted to do engine drawings and make 3D shapes and build moulds, but design-wise they were like, “Hmm…”
“They knew I was a tech person, so they asked if I could maybe combine design with technology and make use [of the software]. So I thought, why not have a go at this?”
Proton also still had the assistance of Mitsubishi, from which it learnt how to design its own cars. “In those early years, we were learning and absorbing everything as much and as fast as we could. That was the objective,” Azlan said, adding that by then the company was already capable of putting its own colour and trim on the Mitsubishi-based models.
A new logo, a new outlook
A paradigm shift was on the horizon, with Proton moving from a Japanese-led era to one that would be heavily inspired by its recent acquisition of Lotus (Azlan called it the “British era”). Being responsible for branding then, he explained the design of the then-upcoming logo, which moved away from bearing explicit references to the Malaysian flag – a problem when the company had (and still has) global aspirations.
“At the time, everything was surface level. If you wanted to associate a car with Malaysia, you had to have the star and the crescent; it was very literal. And when you went somewhere else, you had to change the badge to suit the market. So corporate image control wasn’t really there.”
The main idea that Azlan was trying to push – whether it was the logo or the cars – was what he called “deep thinking”, which looked into the creation of more nuanced references to Malaysian and regional culture, rather than obvious iconography. In the case of the logo, this resulted in the use of a tiger head – the species as a whole isn’t endemic to Malaysia, but many Malaysians associate the big cat with the country.
The Satria Neo – deeply flawed, deeply enjoyable
This dedication to “deep thinking” culminated in the design development of the Satria Neo. A true clean-sheet car, it afforded Azlan the greatest amount of freedom – which is why it’s his favourite project. “We worked with Lotus at the time, and I was sent to Coventry and Hethel [in the United Kingdom] to work on the project. The design phase alone took over a year of sketching and modelling, which is really long by today’s standards.”
The goal of the car, Azlan said, was to emulate the visual impact and driving dynamics of the MINI, the iconic hatchback that was reincarnated by BMW at the turn of the millennium. He remembered then managing director Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff as being particularly involved in the process. “He would fly to the UK just for a design briefing,” he said.
What eventually reached showrooms in 2006 was a striking three-door hatchback, with a low roof and a windscreen so raked the sun visors doubled as the driver’s eyebrows. Azlan made no bones about the car’s deep ergonomic flaws: “Ingress and egress were not superb for the car,” he said.
For better or for worse, the concessions in usability resulted in a design that turned people’s heads. “There’s no way today you can get a car with those proportions. There’s no way you can pass regulations,” he said. And the pursuit of handling prowess meant that the body was made to be “super rigid”, making it the perfect base for a race car. “The Lotus [chassis] tuning was spot on.”
Assuming the mantle
Around halfway through his 23-year tenure at Proton, Azlan assumed his current position as head of design. This coincided with a period of relative stability for the company, on the back of Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin replacing Tengku Mahaleel at the helm and strong products like the Saga and Persona hitting the market.
With the new role, Azlan became more involved in defining Proton’s design strategy and future direction, taking him away from day-to-day design work. “I wish I had more time to do direct design work, but I think it’s a given that as you move up, you set the tone from a different perspective.”
He also had a hand in refining the work of the company’s talented designers, making them more suitable for production. “You can have the best sketches – and the younger generation of designers do wonderful work – but perhaps putting them into production wouldn’t be possible without the seniors guiding them,” he said. “What I do is review their work, sketch out areas that need to be improved. I don’t need to sketch the full car, because most of the time, the proportions are already well done by the new designers, they’re good at that.”
A new future with Geely
While Proton had a brief resurgence before the turn of the previous decade, eroding consumer confidence and ever-stiffer competition led to a dramatic slowing of sales, despite deals with various carmakers and the launch of a slew of new and improved products in 2016. The following year, the company finally entered a far-reaching collaboration with a foreign strategic partner, which, you will all know by now, was Geely.
The arrival of the X70 at the end of 2018 didn’t so much arrest the freefall as light a fire under Proton’s resuscitation. A massive leap beyond anything the company had hitherto produced, its first SUV drove buyers into showrooms and helped push it to second in the local sales charts – a momentum that was sustained with the introduction of four facelifted models last year.
What the X70 wasn’t was a high watermark for Proton Design. Handsome though it may have been, it was recognisably a Geely Boyue, with minor additions like the Infinite Weave grille pattern and Ethereal Bow chrome front trim (and the new logo on the locally-assembled model) being the only real changes to the look.
The lack of large-scale differentiation from the donor car was due to the shortened design process, which had to be conducted simultaneously with the car’s development to bring the vehicle to the market quickly. “We had to finish the design in six months, and everything had to move concurrently,” Azlan said.
With high expectations for the collaboration to succeed and turn a profit, Proton’s designers also settled for a safer approach in an effort to sell more cars. “When Proton got together with Geely, Li [Chunrong, Proton CEO] made one thing clear – we needed to recover, we needed to be back in the black. So, sacrifices have to be made.
“[We had to] make cars that people want, to meet the voice of the customers and meet the volumes that we need to sell. Our designs could not be extravagant; they could not be over the top at that point in time.”
Not just rebadging cars
Azlan did promise that future models would have a more distinctive aesthetic. Oh yes, Proton is still committed to building cars from the ground up, and to that end, it is working with Geely to develop a range of new platforms for the next generation of its indigenous cars, namely the Saga, Iriz, Persona and Exora.
Despite recent facelifts adding some X70 cues – as well as features like the Geely Key User Interface (GKUI) – the current models still feel like distinctly separate products. That will change with their replacements, which Azlan said will bear a closer resemblance to the Geely-based cars. “There will come a point where the “legacy” cars will not be the cars you are familiar with today. They may retain the name, but not the look.”
These models will also supposedly push the boat out in terms of design. Remember the “deep thinking” I mentioned earlier? That will go into these next cars to make them look a lot more daring and original. “The deep thinking now is going into those [cars] to come up with something extraordinary,” Azlan said, adding that future models will introduce more design cues associated with Malaysia. “In fact, on one of our new cars coming out, it will even be on the entire alloy wheel.”
As for when we can expect the new cars to come to showrooms, Azlan declined to give a specific timeframe, but he said that they will come “sooner rather than later, hopefully.” To whet our appetites, Proton will also be showcasing concept cars to preview the new models. “I’d like to revive [our concepts]. I’d like to start teasing the public with what Proton Design [is capable of],” he said.
Designing your own cars – still a worthwhile effort?
But why would Proton still want to design and develop cars under its own power, when it has the hot-selling X70 and many other Geely-based products in the pipeline? Firstly, we should point out that Geely does not have a particularly strong range of models at the bottom end of its lineup – cars like the Emgrand and Vision sedans and the Vision S1 and X3 hatchbacks-cum-SUVs are quite old now and are neither as modern nor as attractive as the company’s latest and greatest models.
But Azlan also made it quite clear that Proton did not want to use rebadged Geely models as a crutch forever. “There’s no design team in the world that would want to only change badges,” he said. “The [Geely] group has acknowledged that we should be the centre of excellence for right-hand-drive [vehicles]. To be able to achieve that vision, we at some point will have to develop our own products.”
The ability to design the cars by itself would also allow Proton to cater its products specifically for the region, from Thailand to Indonesia. As a bonus, the company can also offer its new platforms to Geely to help create vehicles that could enter new market segments, in order to amortise the cost of development.
“When you think about China, you think SUVs and big cars, right? No one [there] is really looking to build efficient people movers or small cars, because they think the Chinese don’t want them. But we feel differently,” he said.
The benefits of being part of the Geely group extend to the design team. Proton can leverage the talents and capabilities of various global design studios, and it works the other way around, too. “Recently, we received quite a number of requests to participate in global design competitions within the Geely group. I’m not allowed to mention [the details], but they are high-profile projects that we were asked to submit proposals.”
Public perception – a double-edged sword
With all that’s said and done, what is the legacy of Proton Design over its 35-year history – especially from the public’s perspective? Azlan responded with surprising candour. “I’ve come to realise that there will always be supporters and detractors no matter what you do; no matter how the great the products are,” he said. “I think they understand only what they see or read out there in the media; there are lots of [assumptions] that are not necessarily true.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t tell anyone 80 to 90% of what we do here. Even the things I’m telling you right now are pretty surface level, so how are people going to be able to understand the complexities of the process?”
And yes, before you ask, the designers do read and listen to public feedback, both positive and negative – including all of you posting in the comments here! “It can be very damaging, actually, for designers. You have to take a step back and not listen to them; you have to stay true to what you know and what you believe.
“That’s where leadership plays a role. If you are very weak, then it’s very easy to succumb to all the negativity that you hear and read. Sometimes I pity my designers because I know they read these things. Especially when they’re young, and they’ve just joined the team, they feel very troubled, whereas, for us, we’ve been in the business in a long time, we have to tell them that it’s OK.”
The tie-up with Geely has also invited a whole host of unwelcome questions. “We get asked all the time, “Do you even really design anymore, now that you’re with Geely?” That already paints a very negative picture,” Azlan said. “But we can’t say that we’re working on this or that, so the story isn’t finished.”
The good news is that despite all that, it’s clear that the design team is still looking forward to creating exciting new cars, and yet it hasn’t lost sight of what’s important. Vehicles like the recently-introduced locally-assembled X70 and Saga Anniversary Edition “aren’t showstoppers,” Azlan explained, “but they’re important in the grand scheme of things. We have to recover before we can reap the benefits later on.”
The team is instead reserving its wealth of creativity, talent and resources for the cars that are on the horizon. “Leave that to the new cars on the new platforms,” Azlan said. We can’t wait to see what’s in store.
The Proton Saga Anniversary Edition, built to celebrate Proton’s 35th anniversary, was launched earlier this month. Based on the 1.3 Premium CVT, it was finished in black with yellow accents inside and out and was priced at the same RM39,300 as the regular model. An option package, which added a bodykit and a few extras, was priced at RM2,035. All 1,100 units were sold out in just five days.
GALLERY: Proton Saga Anniversary Edition
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Why listen to a person about design of the future when he can’t get design of today right?
While proton moves forward the design is stuck in the past. After 23 years design mismatch, its a high time for a new design chief.
So agree. Saharuddin Basri still best designer.
Surely Azlan and saharuddin can’t get along that well. Anyway, both of them like to boast on drawing cars using computers.
.I see many great designers from BMW, Aston Martin, Jaguar and exotic cars like Pagani.. They start on clean piece of paper.. That’s how their cars have souls.
Then only they transfer pencil drawings into CAD. The videos are everywhere on the internet.
Proton cars (and perhaps Geely) look modern and high tech but they also look very industrial.. And not very passionate. Just like any Toyota or Kia. Even VW.
Because proton, toyota, kia, vw are not enthusiast brand but volume seller perhaps?
The inhouse design was good, but when translated to production cars, there are limitations to how they can look. Not the fault of Azlan & co.
Agreed.. every body can sketch a design with a piece of paper and a pencil.Design to your imagination content.But try design a car with modern safety, ergonomics and corporate design incorporated,see how good you are.
Azlan in employed by Proton so he is bind by the company’s rules.Sure he can design something that can beat a Lamborghini but being Proton can he design something like that.Unless proton want to make a Lamborghini rival.Then maybe.In motoring world everyday car is the hardest to design.
Salah satu punca kegagalan Proton.
To those Critics Here, Pls Reread again his sentences,
He really meant it. Pls Differentiate between Current vs Future Plans LoL
Post Geely Takeover until today:
he already dropped few Cues :
“we have to recover before we can reap the benefits later on”
Next Models in pipeline:
“Deep Thinking” + “Daring & Original”
“Proton Design Team – One of the Recognised World Design Center”
Draft and actual different
That goes for all automakers, not just proton. Go see how sexy concept cars are in Geneva motorshow but when comes to actual production unit, it comes out far less appealing.
How many prototypes Proton had shown to us at Motor shows, to show the way forward?
Basically EMAS is one.. But nothing else. Perodua did very well in this area with the Bezza.. That actually became into production.
Anyway, if Proton really has good engineers why the Preve was designed by Italdesign? Same goes to Proton Emas.. Which lead to Iriz.
Why Saga BLM by LG? And I understand Gen2 was also by a Korean company.
Proton is lacking dynamics when keeping a designer for a time period so long. If Azlan is really good in design, he is now working with other car companies already.. Ppl like Walter DeSilva (Alfa) or Peter Schreyer (Kia). Or Ian Callum (Jaguar). Or Chris Bangle (BMW).
Heck. Even Lotus will invite him to work in Hethel.
Proton did came out with Bahar’s 5 new Lotus concept designs, so it is disingenuous to say they didn’t have any prototypes.
Just look what schreyer did to Kia with his tiger nose grill.
Amazing turn around
Please make cars with better proportion. Look at Saga and Persona VVT, they both looked like sagging buttocks before the FL.
The evolution of design from Proton?
None, really. Every time big boss comes in, everything tukar. Repeated this for a couple of decades….and there you have it
Tahniah for 35 years and still going strong.
Money come first. No profit how to develop a new car? People responds are important because they are the one who bought your car. Instead of a syok sendiri approach, a product which nobody want, this is the main point. eg. Arena, Juara, Gen2, Putra (all are niche product catering for niche market) You may have a best designer, best engineer, if mass don’t like your product, they will not buy it.
This azlano guy again? How many times given prominence here and why am I not surprised… writer didn’t even bother asking what went through his mind when “designing” the Pondana’s rear lower bumper with fake exhaust vents colour matched to the car, LOL!
Luckily their future work designing grilles won’t be too difficult.
That fake exhaust design was plagiarised by Landdie for their Evoque. So perhaps Azlano’s design elements were ahead of our times and reflective of something much more expensive but made more affordable with the Perdana.
I wish them all the best. The circus trope has been going on for 35 years and it has to stop. With Geely in it there is hope but the brand is still struggling with some old blood. Its easy to sell a vehicle but to offset continuous good after sales service is another. The X70 isn’t without it’s faults. Some CBU owners have issues with the gearbox and found out that the cost of replacing it after 3 years warranty is up comes to about 30k++. CKD owners are also having issues with the shock absorbers and some of the 7 speed DCT transmissions are overheating. To top it up their service staff isn’t technically competent yet on the product they are selling either.
X70 CBU are 3 years old? Nak buat cerita pun agak agak lah
(paultan.org/2018/12/12/proton-x70-suv-launched-in-malaysia-rm100k-124k/)
Dia mentioned price nak tukar bila dah habis tempoh warranty 3 tahun lah…. you understand english or not?
Copy paste: “The X70 isn’t without it’s faults. Some CBU owners have issues with the gearbox and found out that the cost of replacing it after 3 years warranty is up”
CP: Wow these X70 owners must have traveled back in time to complain about failing gearboxes 3 years after 2018 (hint: that is in Dec 2021).
why so stubborn. just top up abit get Honda CRV GV5. that stronk RV more than worth it.
Well that’s what owners worry when warranty expires after 3 years. Hard to understand, huh?
Isn’t “Star and Crescent” symbol invented by the Turkic-Persian tribes during the golden era of Kushan kingdom? Why plagiarized it ?
Well it’s also on our Jalur Gemilang.
Proton’s design concepts and prototypes looked much more attractive than the final products.What is the point of having great designers, very attractive concept cars and design sketches but the final products looked nothing like them? If Proton’s management always prioritize cost saving over designs and always end up with boring & ugly designs which cannot sell, then no point launching new cars.Proton will save 100% of the costs if no new cars are launched, rather than launching cars which can’t sell well and end up losing money just because of the small savings here & there. The mindset of the management must change.They must realize that they are running a car manufacturing company, not an art studio with a group of artists who are hired just to produce car drawings.
Geely better replace this dude with Peter Schreyer.
Peter Schreyer will just recycle his boring Audi design like he did with Hyundai. Peter Horbury’s design are far more elegant.
Most of Peter’s work was at Kia (Optima, Forte,) . He only overlooks the designs of Hyundais
I’m certainly excited to see the next saga and iriz.
Design’s Enthusiasts Here propose few Nips here :
1) LED-Sequential Turning Signal Guide Front+Rear
2) Bolted-On Turbo Unit with longer warranty
3) Eye-Watering Head+Tail Lights Design.
4) Shorter Front Overhang Design similar to Bmw/Benz
Syed Zainal was one of the best local CEO Proton ever had. He had the head to see what was pragmatic. Unlike Tengku, who was more flamboyant and had illusions of grandeur. Dr Li has done wonders in such a short time, not just from the profit/loss point of view but also brought back the fire in the belly to Proton.
Proton now is in a much better position. No longer wasting time and money developing from scratch big ticket items like chassis, engine and gearbox. Proton does not have the capacity / volume to recoup the astronomical development cost of these big ticket item.
If there is one advice for the design team, is that, ignore the nay sayers but also look forward to the global upcoming trends. Remember that a vehicle design has to last at least 5 years (including the mid phase facelift). The SUV Crossover is starting to catch on here, albeit late as Msia is a very conservative market. New Proton models design have to appeal to a regional and/or global audience, not just the local (conservative) market. The world is getting smaller, no longer should we be happy be Jaguh Kampung.
Proton past designs are timeless, the fact that these long out of local production cars are still in demand overseas is a testament to Proton’s design prowess. This in contrast to the dismal sales of P2 overseas inspite of riding on Daihatsu branding. That is a failure of rebadging.
Proton goin strong even when MAS, LTH bankrap
Dia busy main keta drift
Pro tips for Proton: BRING BACK WITH MITSUBISHI AND LOTUS, MORE LEGENDS THAN GEELY. Mitsubishi and Lotus better than Geely
The designs are sucks that’s why everybody complaint thus leading to poor sales.
Instead of getting new head designer and listen to the current market trends, Proton refused to admit and blame rakyat for not buying enough.
Who is the one is having negative attitude here?
I was working in Protons Design Centre during the British period. I’m glad the Design team is still in place.
I wish them well.
Personally, I found people to be helpful and professional. Contrary to some people’s perceptions.
John Mansfield
when designer is very tolerate or compromise to accountant and engineer, the final product is not what they want.
i can imagine when interior designer want to put bright led for switch indicator, accountant said, i will cost more compare to normal bulb or cheap normal led. last thing, engineer said, the bulb is good enough for the indicator.
More like engineer says LED last longer, and cronies say put low quality soldiered-in bulb so they can change the whole module and charge the whole assembly more often – Proton in a nutshell.
@kenot: But hor, in Berukdua, both accountant and engineer provide same consensus with one motto… maximum cost cutting and downgrading every features available, for example putting in a water temperature meter in Berukdua will cost more compare to cheap normal bulb for idiot light. Since Malaysian want cheap cars (not cheap pricing), both engineer and accountant came into a consensus, the cheap bulb is good enough for their temperature light.
I dunno how he can keep his job.
Proton original design (not rebadge model) were outdated.
For someone who involved in this industry, the design team was either blind or not aware of trending design
Be honest, if there is no government protection, would you buy any P1/P2 cars? I highly doubt it..
wow this dude survive in the co so long with no achievement…how he survive?
design/modify a grille, design this little part that little part…already so proud? called themselves ‘designer’…
whole car design still sux
What do you mean by design grille or design little part? From Waja to Gen2 to Satria Neo to Persona to Preve to Exora to Saga BLM to Saga gen3 to Iriz to new Persona were indigenous Proton designs. What are you smoking here?
Since Azlan first official car was that NEO Satria… wonder IF ever he has free time in his life.
1) How would the outcome of him restoring/”re-fix those flaws” an old Satria NEO.
2) Perhaps ever wonder re-manufacturing original/renew Proton SAGA parts just to mess about with Perodua from company perspective?!
Apa ko bebual ni
As a Singaporean, I have followed Proton’s journey and have owned a number of models like the Iswara, Waja, Gen2, Persona and the last one Exora. I experienced, as an owner, Proton evolves quality and designwise. I can swear anytime by my Proton Exora which is very practical and economical I sold my Exora after seven years after covering 330,000km. I will buy a Proton anytime but too bad not on sale in Singapore anymore. Hope Proton can consider selling in Singapore. You guys at Proton deserves to be proud for producing practical and reliable cars. (My current one year old Altis already had its alternator replaced-so much for reliability) Keep up the good work!
The only thing they design now is the logo. All models rebadged…
Not all models is rebadged. Iriz, Persona, Gen2, Exora, Preve and Suprima S is from proton.