Proton aims to reclaim pole position in Malaysian auto market

The company seems to be pining for a return to its glory days when it held pole position in terms of market share back then when it was the most-sold car in the country at one time.
Indeed in this area, Proton is ambitious as ever and its plans had been clearly articulated by its chief executive officer Li Chunrong at an interview last week. 
Speaking with a moderately accented English, Li proclaimed that the company wants to be No 1 in its home market once again and will move up the value chain. Li says that he expects the Proton SUV to eventually beat the popular Honda CR-V.
“In mainland China, the Boyue (of which is the Proton SUV is based on) consistently outsells the Japanese marques,” Li says.
While not yet confirmed, there have been rumours flying about on social and mobile media that the Proton-SUV would be priced very competitively at below the 100,000 ringgit mark.
Honda’s CR-V is priced from 134,000 ringgit.
Li also boldly says that the company does not see Perodua as a competitor anymore but rather the likes of Honda.
However, analysts say that a mindset change among Malaysian buyers is key to turning the situation around for Proton.
“While the pricing proposition is important, the company would also need to show that they are offering value to the Malaysian people.
“They would need to change the mindset that had been associated with the Proton brand name which had been affected due to legacy issues,” an automotive observer says.
“Also note that the Malaysian people today are generally more well off compared to the period when Proton was first launched when Japan’s Mitsubishi was its minority joint venture partner.
“So there are several factors at play other than price but they can win back market share if they are able to restore the brand name,” he adds.
Li also says that the company would like to put more focus on improving its exports and has regional ambitions for the Asean market.
“Malaysia is a small country, if you compare it with the size of the China market, the population size is only like a province. So we have to set our eyes on the export market.
“We are expecting to increase exports by four times thus far from a small 250 last year,” Li says.
“This year, I forecast we will export more than 1,000 Proton cars. But this is not enough for us,” he adds.
It was reported earlier in the week that Proton has resumed exports to the Middle East, marking the first time it has done so since formalising its partnership with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
The first shipment of 453 cars will arrive in Aqaba in Jordan where they will then be distributed to Iraq and other neighbouring countries.
Indeed, the Middle East may be the key to improving Proton’s export numbers because of the common Islamic market theme.
Li said in a statement earlier that the demand for cars from this region is anticipated to grow and will help boost its export markets.