Recently, PROTON took its top dealers to visit Geely in China to show them how Geely dealers operate their centres in Shanghai. The trip consisted of 28 top PROTON sales and service center owners, accompanied by PROTON officials and a representative from a financial institution.
One reason for this was that PROTON has recently urged its dealers and service center operators to upgrade their facilities in preparation for the new Proton models which will be introduced next year. Of course, many of the dealers were impressed with the setup over in China where the Geely 3S/4S centres were like premium car lounges here in Malaysia. It was an eye opener for them.
This is all part of Geely's turnaround plan for PROTON where recently a group of 40 or so PROTON vendors were brought over to have a look at how Geely's vendors and suppliers were operating. That too was a shock for the local vendors. So now, the new management of PROTON have actually stated to their suppliers/vendors and now their dealers on how things should be run by showing them how Geely manages things in China.
The news that is going around is that Geely is taking things extra serious in terms of production and also sales. In terms of production, the vendors must bring down their prices but at least a large percentage or face the axe. Quite sensible and possible as most of the suppliers also supply a lot of stuff to other brands assembled locally. If they can sell parts to the other manufacturers at a certain price, they can do the same for Proton.
In terms of sales, the same has also been said as all PROTON dealers are required to take a certain number of cars per week/month and generate sales. Of course, this now puts more pressure on non-performing sales outlets. Of course this is necessary for the survival of PROTON which may have too many outlets to be only selling an average of 6,000+ units monthly at the moment. Even if the sales reach the magical (for Proton) 10,000 units per month, it would benefit from a leaner and meaner sales network.
What the current management of PROTON is doing seems very reasonable in my opinion. The company needs to trim all wastages out of its system. After all, it is a business. Which model of business states that it must be losing money? There are no businesses that can afford to continuously lose money, and what PROTON is doing now makes perfect sense.
PRESS RELEASE
A STRONG NOD FOR PROTON'S FUTURE
L to R- Susan Leong from PROTON's Hoi Keen Service in Kuantan., Dato’ Shamshudin of Pantai Bharu with a PROTON 4S centre, Ryan Lai, director for LHM One Stop, a PROTON 4S outlet in Nilai
Subang Jaya, 14 December 2017 – PROTON took its top dealers to visit Geely in China recently in a bid to share how Geely dealers operate their centres in Shanghai. The trip consisted of 28 top PROTON sales and service center owners, accompanied by PROTON officials and a representative from a financial institution.
The national car maker has recently urged its dealers and service center operators to upgrade their facilities in preparation for the new Proton models which will be introduced next year.
The trip exposed them to a Geely dealer in Shanghai and for many, it was their first trip to China where a car dealer actually opened up its doors for the Malaysians to learn and study their daily operation and the PROTON dealers are highly impressed with the success of Geely in its native country.
Ryan Lai, director for LHM One Stop, a PROTON 4S outlet in Nilai said that he was pretty much awed with the level of customer service that the Geely outlet provided for Geely car owners.
"The service has a waiting lounge that does not look out of place in a 5-star hotel! Usually, the atmosphere can only be experienced by European premium car owners but Geely is offering it to their customers," said Ryan.
Dealers were also invited to test drive the Geely Boyue which will be introduced in Malaysia soon.
"I was sceptical at first but from the moment I sat inside the Boyue, I knew this is the right vehicle for PROTON’s new image," Ryan explained.
His view was also shared by Susan Leong from Hoi Keen Service in Kuantan. Hoi Keen runs a PROTON service center and also a body and paint shop for the brand.
"It has a luxurious interior and felt very premium for its segment," said Susan.
A veteran in the industry, Dato’ Shamshudin of Pantai Bharu with a PROTON 4S centre in Jalan Meru expressed his confidence in PROTON and Geely.
"The synergy is there and the Boyue will definitely make a big impact in Malaysia," said Shamshudin.
The dealers also got the opportunity to visit Geely Research Institute and showcased the group's current technology and future designs.
Shamshudin, Ryan and Susan have together announced openly that their company will be investing millions into expanding their PROTON outlets.
"This trip has really opened up our eyes to what PROTON will achieve in the near future."
"We will be investing in PROTON brand because we have seen what the future is for PROTON. It is bright," said Ryan.
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