Earlier today, Proton unveiled the 2024 model year X50 a.k.a. X50 RC. RC stands for Running Change, which means that this is not a facelift, and those who were expecting to see a refreshed face, or even wheels/colours, were left disappointed.
It’s now almost four years since the B-segment SUV debut in 2020, but Proton has seen fit to soldier on with the X50’s original look, choosing to focus instead on improvements to NVH and the infotainment system, which we’ve detailed in full here along with the extra equipment. So, what’s behind the call to not alter the design, even by just a bit?
“We have plans to change the physical, but after we assessed the design, whatever that Geely has, it’s not suitable for the Malaysian market because it’s too aggressive. This model is sexy, if we change it won’t be sexy, it will be ugly,” Proton deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah told paultan.org, adding that the ‘internal work’ had progressed and waiting for a suitable new skin would be ‘too late’.
“It’s a waste (sayang) that the upgraded one at Geely is too aggressive, which I don’t think the customers will continue buying,” he reiterated. The face that is deemed to be too much for Malaysia is the mug of the 2021 Geely Binyue Pro – take a look at it and share your thoughts.
If you’ve been wondering why Proton can’t design its own face/facelift as opposed to only picking from what Geely has in China, the answer is simple – volume.
“We’ve always considered this (own design), but if we look into the volume – if the X50’s volume was 4,000 units before, it’s now 1,000 to 2,000 – we’ve got to look at what’s the investment per unit. It’s not that we don’t want to do (own design), but the ultimate aim is we want to maintain this price,” Roslan said.
That’s just half of the story though. While there are plans for a proper X50 facelift, part of the reason why we’re not getting it now is because Proton’s vendors have committed to certain volumes for the parts you see here.
“Physical, not now, not so soon, because if we change now, the vendors will come and complain about unmet volumes, the cost. So what we’ll do is we take into account what the design looks like, the market acceptance and the ecosystem, particularly the vendors.
“We can change (the design), but what happens to the investments (by the vendors). So this is something that we’ve got to balance. If we fail to manage this, customers are happy but the vendors won’t be happy – so this is the balancing act that we have to do,” the deputy CEO added. Proton’s issue with its parts suppliers is ongoing – basically, it boils down to the OEM not making/selling enough cars – full story here.
So, what will the eventual Proton X50 Facelift look like? A mule with Geely Binyue Cool styling has been spotted roaming local roads, and you can check it out here. Is the Binyue Cool look less aggressive than that of the Binyue Pro? Anyway, check out our launch report of the 2024 Proton X50 RC here.
GALLERY: 2024 Proton X50 RC Flagship
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That’s pretty weak reasoning. Old mentality of old proton. Poor PR statement and quite embarrassing to read
– Press matterial Second Draft –
“This year, we are focusing on the make over of X70. It is our older model, so a refresh is timely and will put in a better position with our peers.
As for the X50, the design is still well received and attracting strong interest, hence our approach is just to do a small lift for now. But what is the highight here is that we are now making the car more affordable. There is a substantial discount and better value compare to the previous. I want to take this opportunity to thank my team and also our business partners / suppliers for their hard work to make this happen. “
You can’t even add new hues to the range, or change rims. Proton’s product planners are crap.
So,the problem is again the blardy bunch of local parts suppliers.
So,u protong fanboys…u know why u r not getting top notch parts and latest designs , due to these spoilt brats.
As long as P1 stick to these leeches,u cant sing Tina Turner’s song ” Simply the Best “.
What u get in terms of Qc…compromised parts in terms of quality.
If P1 is not your cup of tea,look elsewhere.
Have you seen my face? Do you call that ugly or aggressive? Yet ppl still buy by the droves. Little did they know our rear axles are fragile like egg shells
Clowns making clown’s statement here
Dah lah tambi, dah basi rhetoric kamu. Satu axle je yang patah tapi kelingtong sampai sekarang. Malu la wei. Kereta jepun dan eropah macam macam rosak tak de pun kamu bising. Your obcession for China is making China great. Lol
It’s clear as day that proton does not think far. They just want to grab whatever current profit they can. What bs using volume as excuse? If they do the facelift, volume will increase. That’s the general rule of thumb. They’ve been milking the inflated x50 for 4 years already
This Roslan has some balls, dare call his donor “ugly”.
Anyway, do nothing is his strategy. Expect nothing more from him.
Nice grill. Best of its class
No cause proton need to clear it’s old stocks, a LOT of them
What type of excuse is that lol
What a dumb and useless Deputy CEO …..facelift with no changes. Typical proton dna …. too aggressive for Malaysian market – who are you to decide for your customers?
Where is the CEO? He has no balls in facing the public is it? Always this DCEO has to face the brunt of the mgmt’s poor decision.
Haha. Too aggressive!? What bloody nonsense. Call a spade a spade, and say you want to placate to the leeches that are the suppliers and don’t have the balls to stand up to them.
Atau dgn kata lain :
‘Perah selagi boleh, habis santannya, hampas pun blh dijual pd pembeli’
too impulsive to presume facelift styling too aggressive?
Meh, same boring look.
Well if customers aren’t happy, they won’t buy. No customers, no payments to vendors. What an idiotic thing to say. It makes me wonder, why aren’t they buying from vendors that are cost optimised for lower volumes? I’m sure plenty of smaller shops making these ah beng bodykits happy to take these orders.
I presume is Transfer of old molding from china from Malaysia is cheaper than building new one. So china factory can focus on newer model. While Malaysia factory only focus on older model.
Exactly. Geely would have priced their royalty/design fee higher as its current. After EOL, they would probably get it dirt cheap. Geely is also smart, if they want to take over proton completely, they have to wait for proton thinktanks to die and rotten naturally – which is not too far. At some point, Geely will just buy over everything for pennies, remove the current clowns, restructure the vendor programs, run the supply chain from china and may even close down the whole damn ecosystem. they will have their shipping lines supplying everything directly. a huge warehouse near a port would do the trick. don’t be surprised if they buy over a port! And the Gov can say china invested billions of dollars into MY economy (well.. it applies to which ever gov that’s in power – no one gov is better than the other ! )
This is peak laziness. Never change Proton.
Talk bull shit la….The X50 still looks same is due to the old stock haven’t clear off yet.
Sorry Proton. Lazy excuses!!!
Let’s see if the actual facelift looks exactly like the original Geely car. Brave to call your owners car ugly. Who would have thought your suppliers are more important than your customers.
Bad strategy. Really bad. By Proton/Geely.
But it is good for existing owner. The resale value can still maintain if not; alamak price drop already.
One of the most bull shit company in history. Proton should no longer be a national company. Waste of tax payer money. And we had to pay for Proton’s fool decision making design and way forward. Remove P1 and P2, and bring cars without massive tax is better for both consumer and vendor.
Look at how the aggressive looking Omoda 5 is selling, despite the controversy arising from brake and rear axle.
Haiz, do you really understand your buyers?
that’s not for you to decide, failure in making decision = less sales
Just say cut cost la. No need BS excuses. Same old same old P1!
really? looks far better. maybe its just the economics.
cakap mesti mau kona kona. the designs between x50 and binyue pro are virtually the same. admit saja lah volume not met
lemmah la Proton, mana ada kompeni lain keluarkan facelift sama dengan model asal tanpa ada sedikitpun perbezaan luaran, even myvipun ada jugak la tukar lampu dan bumber. Memang drop la sale x50 lepas ni… Buyer ajar skit Proton supaya benda mengarut x berulang lagi… klu kluar mcm dalam rumors tu berminat jugak la aku nak test
Memang sudah drop pun. Tengok data jualan X50 utk tahun ni (data.gov.my). Dah terkeluar dari Top 10
Ade je alasan. Mengaku malas je lah.
Hahahahahaha….. cakap jelah nak untong lebih sebab tu rupa tak diubah
Total BS!!!!!!
Agak-agak la sikit kalau nak tipu tu.
Sound like a lot of BS here.
Well, Proton could have create an optional bodykit for it right? I believe that there are people who would like the new design. Or turn it into a R3 option ke. Doesn’t seem special with this RC. If you’re talking about hardware changes, I don’t think people will buy it now unless it is Apple Carplay / Android Auto compatible. Now that is ‘sayang’.
close shop jela proton what a dumb excuse…and to think after over 30 years being an automaker, they’re still doing rebadging exercises. ha.
P1 telling consumer this is good enough for you, take it
Just admit that you are incompetent without geely help. Ego is a bitch but pLoton is still a loser
U want facelift?
Just wait to buy HRV
As Honda higher volume
They can do proper Facelift
Proton consider so much about its vendors. Other car makers also have this kind of concern? Enlighten me.
x50 is meant for the younger people unlike the x70/x90 big family style.
calling it “too aggressive” is such lame statement.
if sales plummet just blame it on your marketing research department for being out of touch with the intended market.
just say lah you have excess supply you want to get rid of from binyue and want maximize profit.
Ceo mangkuk. I bet all the media journalists also laugh behind their back and asking why the hell are we attending such event just showcasing some enhanced display and sound deadening material. Better go brader accessories shop as more mod can be found there.
Hahaha imagine being beholden to your vendors, when it should be the other way around!
I make bread with Flour A from Shop A > I want to change to Flour B from Shop B > Shop A say cannot we already bought Flour A for you > I say not my problem > Shop A say we already signed contract saying you MUST buy certain amount of Flour A from us every year.
That sounds so stupid, yet that’s what Proton have been doing since its inception. The main reason Geely “won” the bidding was because they allow this practice to continue, to protect these OH SO KESIAN vendors.
the problem lies that Proton is not aggressive.
If unmet volumes (committed volumes) by vendors means that proton has not met their projected sales figures…..Is the CEO admitting that he failed? BTW, I find that the face-lifted Geely Binyue very attractive.
That’s fair, I actually also agree,
Just that those spyshots going around for the new X50 wears an aggressive face too, would that be changed in the final product?
Proton better change name to Grillie.
he must be an IT background guy.
“Don’t fix it if it’s not broke”
See, our market volume cannot sustain proton to keep up with facelift or upgrade. I wonder how many annual volume proton project to it’s vendor Vs actual qty. How long will it take proton to exhaust the stock build up or exhaust the promised qty to proceed with new facelift
Tis is wat happen when Proton engineers use to eat curry puff n goyang kaki too much n bcome redundant lack of idea, just waiting for donation from geely.
Haha biasa la kena con dari dulu sampai sekarang hisap darah
Keep your stupid jokes proton
What not just say there are still many parts since x50 is barely sold since most buyers just rather buy cheri and its very overpriced for a poorly spec especially from national maker
boikotlah
Keep up the good work P1 in treating M’sia as disposal ground for unwanted stuffs from Geely China.
You’ll see the volume drop even more very soon.
Who wanna spend hard earned cash on scraps from another?
The Binyue Cool is too aggressive and a waste for Malaysia market?!!!
I think most Malaysian are waiting this…other Chinese brands are giving their latest to Malaysian but you m
Too aggressive? Yes right Malaysia is just a dumping ground