PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd is expected to reveal a string of announcements in the next 12 months, including the collaboration with Japanese auto giant Honda and the launch of new models.

Sources said the collaboration would be a multi-layered collaboration, which entailed not only cross-platform development, but would also allowed Proton to play a role in the global supply chain.

“Things are ongoing and moving forward, you will see more announcements in the months to come, inclusive of the introduction of the Preve hatchback,” said the source.

Codenamed the P3-22A, the five-door hatchback variant of the Preve was spotted numerous times on public roads, undergoing testing with substantial parts of the car being camouflaged.

Prospective buyers looking at the Proton Preve. Proton may introduce a five-door
hatchback variant of the Preve.

He hinted that the announcements in the future might include also the Perdana Replacement Model (PRM), long rumoured to be based on the Nissan Fuga, but that rumour was laid to rest after Proton terminated the memorandum of understanding between the national carmaker and Nissan Motor Co Ltd in March 2011.

Another source said Proton actually had plans to use the Accord chassis as the platform to develop the PRM, and this would entail some changes cosmetically for the PRM, which was targeted to be widely used as the new government official car.

The Perdana was launched in 1999, and followed by several more facelifts until 2003, but since then, there have been a void in the market for the model that would replace the aging Perdana.

“The PRM, though based on the Accord, would still entail cosmetic changes, and the engine could be based on the 2-litre Petronas engines Proton bought last year,” he said.

Proton bought the Petronas engine technology for RM63mil, and these engines were developed as part of Petronas' involvement in Formula One racing sponsorship previously.

The source said it was no secret that Honda was expanding in Malaysia, and the higher localisation Honda was pushing for would include the stamping of parts, and there were only a few companies in the country which were capable of doing so.

“It is natural for Honda to choose Proton as a partner based on the long working relationship between Honda and DRB-Hicom,” he said.

He said the PRM would not be the growth driver for Proton as volume would not be substantial, but instead it would be coming from lower capacity engine vehicle models that would drive volume and growth for Proton in the future, despite its weakening market position right now.

Proton sales continued to slide, with the national carmaker recording a 7% decline in March with sales of 11,870 units compared with 12,753 units recorded in March last year. However, it was a surge of 16% compared with the preceding month of February, which recorded 10,229 units.

It is also understood that on last Wednesday, a meeting was held between the management of both Honda, Proton and DRB-Hicom Bhd. It was revealed that this meeting had earned an extra mile towards the progress of specific areas in the Honda-Proton collaboration.

In the meantime, the national carmaker is still working on its vendor rationalisation programme to streamline the vendor network in terms of operations, especially in the quality, competency and delivery areas or QCD.
SHAH ALAM: Proton Edar Sdn Bhd is targeting car sales to increase by 20% this year from the 141,000 units sold in 2012, says chief executive officer Hisham Othman.

He said rivalry in the industry was intense but Proton and its dealerships were ready to step up their performance to stay competitive.

"Most important is the introduction of new models. We have indicated that we will be coming up with a C-segment hatchback by the middle of the year," he said in an interview.

Proton Edar is the sole marketing arm of the national car maker.


Hisham said Proton's increasing  emphasis on quality, safety and customer service would help make it competitive.

"The only way to win this game is through volume and in order to sell a lot of cars, they must be of good quality.

"The cost of buying and ownership and, good customer service through the years is also vital," he said.

For example, Proton recently strengthened the body of the new Saga model and added dual airbags without increasing prices.

It also made a lot of adjustments and improved quality based on customer feedback, he added.

"In the case of Preve, improvements have been made to the extent the model is now an excellent car. It's a fantastic car because it is supposed to compete with the Honda Civic and Toyota Altis but price wise, it is equivalent to the Toyota Vios and Honda City models," he added.

Among the improvements made were adjustments to engine management unit to make it more responsive.

"Previously, our customers complained that the car was under-powered but that was not the problem. It was just tuned lower and this can be solved by making adjustments to the software.

"Besides, the Preve has been awarded a five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Programme safety rating. It's a new car assessment programme done all over the world by an independent professional third party and five-star is the highest rating a car can receive," he said.

Hisham said the maximum points a car can get is 37 and Preve scored 34.25.

Cars that scored more than Preve were all continental cars, he added.

Meanwhile, Proton's sales and service network now consists of 230 sales branches and 285 service centres nationwide.

"We have an extensive network, including in Sabah and Sarawak. We make sure every single outlet gives exceptional customer service and performs up to standard.

"For those not up to the mark, we would train them until they achieve optimum standards if they want to remain as dealers," he said.

Among improvements made were shorter waiting period, providing courtesy cars and introducing standard operations procedures for customer complaints where every single complaint will have to go through top management.

"After consolidation, our service is streamlined, with increased efficiency in areas such as standard adoption, spare parts management. The process is faster. For example, it used to take about 5-10 days to receive approval to replace parts, now it can be resolved in just two days" he said.

With increased efficiency, more cars can now be serviced and it would have a big impact on the bottom line.

Currently, Proton Edar services 5,130 cars daily, nationwide. It targets to service 5,265 cars per day next year.

Proton Edar also provides courtesy cars for certain jobs and repairs that take more than three days but this excludes accident cases.

"We have never done this before. We now provide 40 cars for this purpose and will add another 30 cars by end-April. We're doing this in stages and by year-end all outlets will provide this service. Currently only premium car brands provide this service," he said.

Servicing contributes between 10 and 15 per cent to revenue but it is  important in order to retain customers and keep them happy, he said.

"It is the deciding factor whether they buy your car or not," Hisham added.
 -Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: A modified version of the Proton Exora MPV to be known as TEKS1M (1Malaysia Taxi) will be used as budget taxis from June with rates starting at RM3.

The key features of the Exora budget taxi include a spacious cabin, ample legroom and boot space and taxi accessories such as taxi meter, credit/debit card facility and mobile data terminal, said Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.

“The decision to use elegant brown for the vehicles is because the colour exudes the excellence gold' feel. This has never been used before on taxis,” he said at the launch of TEKS1M yesterday.

Syed Hamid (second from left) launching the elegant brown TEKS1M while Mohd Khamil (left)
looks on at the Proton centre in Shah Alam.

Syed Hamid said the taxi rate would begin from RM3 compared with the executive taxis which start at RM6.

“Exoras will gradually replace the older taxi models,” he said.

The taxis, which come in manual or automatic transmission models, are also available in either petrol or the OEM-fitted natural gas vehicle (NGV) models.

Among its premium features are two years' warranty, GPS navigation and the anti-lock braking system.

Proton executive chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil said the first batch comprising 1,000 units of the Exora taxis would be ready by June.

“Proton is committed in providing vehicles with the highest level of comfort and safety as well as making them affordable and reasonably priced,” he said.

Taxi driver Eddie Chang, 57, said the “standardisation” of the taxi colour would ease confusion among commuters.

“This would also be a convenience to foreigners here,” said Chang, who has been in the job for seven years.

Another taxi driver Kanabati Hari Krishnan, 48, said the Exora taxi was “convenient and spacious with plenty of features as well as credit card payment facility for passengers”.

“There is also insurance coverage for taxi drivers,” he added.
 

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton cars are likely to re-enter the Chile market this year following the effectiveness of the Malaysia-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), says the Chilean envoy.

Ambassador of Chile to Malaysia Christian Rehren said Proton should take the challenge to push ahead in a small country but which is very highly competitive in the auto parts industry.

"It could be a good option to return," he added.

Rehren said the Chilean car market had become one of the most sophisticated in Latin America, together with Mexico and Brazil, that focused on passenger cars.

After all, Proton was already well known in Chile, he said.

Proton made its first foray into Chile in the 1990s.

 -Bernama
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