Why proton fail

Of course, if you don't export your cars, you don't earn foreign exchange," Tun Mahathir said. At the 24th Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia in June, Dr Mahathir revealed that his government was planning to work on a new national car project. However, many Malaysians did not respond positively to the suggestion, asking instead that the public transport system be improved. In the London dialogue session, the Prime Minister continued to champion the third national car project, but reiterated that the government will have to ask the private sector to implement it, as Putrajaya does not have enough money.

This will create jobs for the people and generate a lot of business for small businesses," Bernama quoted him as saying. He said a national car would allow Malaysia the opportunity to develop the engineering sector and increase its skills and knowledge. Related News. Next In Business News. Mavcom urges AirAsia X to fully reimburse ticket purchasers. Tengku Zafrul: Full year economic growth to remain positive.

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Thank you for downloading. We hope you enjoy this feature! China is already a world leader in the production of electric vehicles, churning out , all-electric cars, buses and trucks last year, more than the rest of the world combined. What chance do we have of competing with them? It is also a hugely expensive business to get into. Global investments in the electric vehicle industry already top RM billion. Where on earth will a country like Malaysia with RM1 trillion in debt ever find the money to invest in an electric car project?

Whether he can resist the pressure to keep public funds out of another national car project, however, is yet to be seen. There are other ways to spur our industrialisation and grow our economy.

Many other developed economies — Singapore, for example — managed to advance without an indigenous auto-manufacturing capacity. Since , Proton continued to make losses and remained a second fiddle to Perodua for almost a decade. Case in point, take a look on how recent Proton cars were marketed.

Was the Preve marketed as a global car? If so why it was not sold in Europe? Answers at no. If so, then why was Iriz called the game changer as well? The problems in Proton cars ranged from faulty power windows, poor quality control and many more that haunted Malaysians over the past three decades.

That explains their horrendous quality in the past although this is no longer the case today. The tough competition by non-national brands by offering products for an additional RM per month more in monthly payments have also resulted in Malaysians choosing cars like Honda City over the Proton Preve.

Malaysians run away from new Protons when it comes to buying new cars. Compounding the facts that cars in Malaysia is among the most expensive in this country and seeing their foreign counterparts enjoy good cars at affordable prices have made Malaysians hate Proton even more. Not only does it have a steady focus on giving affordable and quality cars to the masses, it also has a better perception from Malaysians. Meanwhile, it takes approx 1. Ridiculous tax duties on non-national brands somehow made Proton an undisputed champion for value.

This led to the masses having little to no choice but to settle for a Proton to move around. Over the years, Proton became complacent and turned a blind eye on the quality of its products.

It was also political pressure and the resistance of foreign control on a Malaysian GLC that ended the long-winded talks between Proton and Volkswagen ; not once but twice! Case in point, Skoda. Dam, we were inches away from having Proton Kumbang on our roads! Uncommon among GLCs in Malaysia are bailouts from the government. While Proton has yet to receive bailouts the size of Perwaja or MAS, they do receive some research and development grants every year , as per the quote below:.

Strangely, that report appeared to be questionable as a few months after that report was made, Proton Chairman, Tun Dr. So what gives? This effectively means Proton will always remain under the control of the year old Chairman. No one in Malaysia has forgotten his political strength in this country, and with DRB-Hicom on board, Proton will remain stuck with the political entanglement for the years to come. TDM stays with Proton, whether you like it or not! To complicate things, that ship is lead by an overambitious captain who is treating his ship like that particular tune from this hit tune.