Proton is a Malaysian automotive brand that has been designing and producing its own cars with intelligent features since 1985. Their vehicles industry does all the work completely by themselves they design, develop, prototype, manufacture, test and distribute the vehicles. They have an aim from the beginning to provide the customers with innovative features and intelligent technology to the customers. Proton is continuously building up its empire and has come a long way since 1985. It has brought various cars to the market including SAGA Sedan, Persona, Iriz, Exora, X70, and X50 SUVs.
COMPETITORS OF PROTON:
Perodua No longer A competitor:
In the Malaysian automotive industry, Proton’s main competitor was Perodua. However, Proton has improved its branding and quality throughout the time and it does not consider Perodua as its competitor. Both of the companies have some resource similarities like the list of government policies that benefit only the national car brands stated earlier, the manufacturing facilities, and also the distribution network in the domestic market.
Li also talked about the fact that there is no competition at all between Proton’s SAGA Sedan and Perodua’s Bezza. Proton’s SAGA Sedan has been face-lifted and there have been variations whereas, Perodua’s first-ever sedan is Bezza.
Honda And Toyota The New Competitors:
In an exclusive interview with the CEO of Proton Li Chunrong on Channel News Asia he clearly revealed that Perodua is no longer the competitor of Proton as Proton is continuously improving its quality and that now the competitors of Proton are Honda and Toyota.
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GEELY HOLDING GROUP:
The question arises in the mind of the competitors how did Proton become so confident that it is now competing with Honda and Toyota? And how did they improve the quality of their vehicles to a great extent?
Well, Proton gained furthermore success and development when in 2017, 49.9% of the stakes of Proton was purchased by the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. After that, the company is progressing globally by opening an assembly plant in Pakistan in collaboration with Al-Haj Automotive. Since then, Proton cars are well recognized across Europe, South East Asia, Latin America, and Russia. Proton is rapidly flourishing and becoming a global player in the automobile market.
In the interview with Channel News Asia Li also discussed how there were some quality issues in the past and now with the expertise of the Geely group and incredible experience of national car making Proton is going to come with high-quality cars for the customers.
PROTON CKD CARS IN PAKISTAN:
Proton shocked everyone with the assembly of CKD units in Pakistan. Even the buyers were concerned about the fact that whether the quality of the CKD units is going to be as good as the quality of CBU units. Proton gave its competitors a big competition by producing high-quality CKD cars. The CKD SAGA Sedan and CKD X70 SUV in Pakistan are one of the best options for family cars in Pakistan. The CKD SAGA Sedan has additional features that are not even available in the CBU units. It has 5 captivating features including Front and Rear NVH Guards, Leatherette Arm Console with USB Ports, Stabilizer Bar, and Front Parking Sensors.
DEDICATION OF PROTON:
Proton didn’t back off during hard times when it had quality issues it jumped back into the market with the partnership of Geely Group and produced better quality vehicles. Similarly during Covid’19 Proton couldn’t deliver the CKD parts to Pakistan on time due to which there were delays in the delivery of cars to the people who have already booked their cars. Proton delivered the buyers with a high-quality CKD SAGA Sedan on the 13th of October 2021 and just after 3 months, it rolled out its first unit of CKD X70 SUV.
It has always played a fair fight and jumped back into the market with better results and quality. Proton has kept its hopes high and was always dedicated to building a better company. They have now become so strong and confident that their new competitors are Honda and Toyota. People in Pakistan prefer Proton family cars because they are better than the other SUVs and Sedans available in Pakistan.
PRICE COMPARISON:
Proton’s SAGA Sedan and X70 SUV are low price cars in comparison to SUVs and Sedans of competitor brands. This makes the competitors even concerned as Proton is providing the customers with innovative and intelligent features at a lower price. Proton offers it all including safety, comfort, entertainment, reliability, and whatnot. The competitors are worried that so many features are being offered to the customers at lower prices.
FEATURES OF PROTON:
Safety, Comfort, and Ride Handling: Proton is an all-in-one vehicle. It provides you with enough space for headroom, legroom, storage space, and space for 4 to 5 grown adults to sit comfortably. The safety features include airbags, an anti-lock braking system, an autonomous braking system, Child lock, seatbelt check warning, front and rear cameras, parking sensors, and many more. For the driver to have control over the car while going through slippery roads, hurdles, turns, and corners strut bars, NVH guards are provided. These features allow the driver and the passenger to enjoy a satisfactory and comfortable ride.
Intelligent Features: Proton has USB ports and the X70 SUV has voice compatible feature. Which is activating when the command of “Hi Proton” is giving. These features are innovative and entertaining for both the driver and the passengers.
A potential buyer who is looking for low price cars in Pakistan. With so many innovative features must go for Proton Pakistan’s CKD units.
FUTURE OF PROTON:
Proton gave a 10-year plan according to which by the year 2027 Proton. Is going to transition from “basic cars” to “high-end cars”. According to Proton’s seven stars strategy unveiled in 2017 Proton targets to sell around 4000,000 units by 2027. The assembly of Proton’s plant in Pakistan was a step towards building and getting hold of overseas markets. Proton has also planned to launch Smart EVs in Malaysia. It is also disclosing that they are also going to launch hybrid cars.
