The movement control order (MCO), implemented on March 18 to control the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in an economic slowdown that affected many areas of the national economy. As automotive companies restarted operations under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), Proton took its first step down the road to recovery in May.
A research conducted on social media during the MCO period (April – May 2020) by market insight solutions provider Vodus, regarding ‘intention to buy’ a new car among current Malaysian car owners with a budget of RM200k and below within the next 3 months found that despite the industry experiencing a contraction of 51% in sector earnings, 38% of the intended buyers had a national car brand in mind.
The Vodus research paper records that for the month of May, PROTON sold 5,676 vehicles, accounting for an estimated market share of 23.3% of the local automotive market, reflected in PROTON’s capturing No.1 top sales figures in Perlis, Perak and Melaka for the same month. With its own loyal fan base, the iconic Proton Saga remains as the popular choice among prospective buyers despite the newer offerings from other car brands.
Amongst PROTON’s portfolio, the highest demand was seen for the new Proton X70, which with 1,909 units sold in June, makes it the best-selling SUV overall for the first half of 2020.
Affordability a strong factor in demand for Proton cars
As noted in the Vodus study, pricing plays a major factor when purchasing a car, and the main attribute that defines PROTON’s growth is its price component that offers affordable cars for a demographic of users with less than RM3,000 monthly income.
New and updated models with intelligent features
The 2020 Proton X70, the automakers’ first entry into the growing Future Car Segment of Sports-Utility-Vehicle (SUV), which holds a 31% market share of all vehicles benchmarked by Vodus, brings new technology and safety features to users at a price point never achieved before, with its Global Key User Interface (GKUI) which focuses on intelligence and connectivity. This feature allows X70 owners to experience what a connected drive feels like when connected to a 4G cellular network, allowing for the download and display of real-time data, such as the current weather and navigational data.
Improved product quality
In terms of quality improvement, PROTON has implemented at its Tanjung Malim and Shah Alam plants what’s known as the Global Customer Product Audit (GCPA), a quality system used by Geely. At the end of 2019, PROTON’s internal quality audit GCPA score stood at 1,190 points.
Keeping customers happy
Last but not least, PROTON has, over the past two years seen a tremendous increase in the number of 3S/4S outlets in its network. Today, the company has 121 such outlets giving PROTON the largest network of service centres located across the country, meaning that support for Proton owners are plentiful and are also manned by friendly and knowledgeable staff who are capable of providing customers with the highest level of quality sales and after sales service.
