PROTON Continues its Turnaround with More Dealers Upgrading their Outlets & also a Trip To Geely's Facilities in China

PROTON's turnaround process is continuing at a slow and steady pace. Recently the company had announced that 10 more of its dealers will be upgrading their outlets to 3S and 4S. This follows the earlier two batches which were held in December 2017 and January 2018.

PROTON is aware that their customer service must be improved to make the brand be seen as a quality product. The company is actually pleased that the number of dealers who are upgrading their outlets to 3S and 4S keeps on increasing. This is necessary to serve PROTON's customers better and to ensure that customers get a satisfying sales and services experience when they visit a PROTON outlet.

PROTON have stated that they currently have a very good dealer incentive support scheme for them to upgrade their dealerships. They are also proud to declare that this scheme is one of the best in the industry. According to their CEO, Dr. Li  Chunrong, the chance is here and now, and existing PROTON dealers should grab the opportunity to upgrade. As even we here, who are industry observers, understand the need for PROTON to improve their customer touch points for improved customer experience. Those that do not may not survive this transition period as it is all about quality these days.

Aside from that, a group of 33 PROTON dealers from Malaysia were recently treated to a visit to the Geely Research Institute (GRI) in Hangzhou Bay, China. The intention of their visit was for them to be receptive in what Geely is doing with PROTON. By introducing the dealers to the developments that are ongoing at Geely and trying out Geely cars, it will open their eyes to what is in store for them in the future.

Basically Geely's management of PROTON is still in the nurturing part. They are still trying to get more of their dealers to upgrade so that customer touchpoints are made better. The process seems slow as right now, monthly sales for PROTON cars seem to be plateauing. This could be because PROTON launched their newest models in 2016 with only the Iriz enhancement last year. Malaysians love getting the newest stuff and also they love good customer experience these days. It is tough satisfying a Malaysian customer.  

I also think that many are actually awaiting the first of the Geely-Proton models rather than buying current ones right now. The end of the year launch of their new SUV couldn't come sooner.