Federation of Motor and Credit Companies Association President Tony Khor said Proton needs to make customers happy again.

“There is nothing wrong with the quality of Proton cars today, especially Iriz and Preve, which were launched after 2012.

“However, earlier models like Waja, Persona, Perdana, Gen 2 and Savvy had given the national car a bad name due to various problems plaguing the models, which were not attended to immediately,” he told FMT.

He urged Proton to repair troublesome models at reasonable prices.

Khor was commenting on the recent government announcement that it would provide a RM1.5 billion soft loan to Proton, with the condition the automotive company changed its business model and devised strategic plans to expand domestic and international markets.

He said another approach Proton could use to go back to its glory days was working hand-in-hand with used car dealers to help maintain reasonable second-hand car prices.

“If someone buys a Proton for RM45,000 and sells it for RM30,000 after four years, that will make people happy.

“They will go back to Proton because the after-sales service is good and the resale value is excellent.”

Khor also hoped that Proton would work with international automotive players to produce good engines and quality cars to gain support from the international market, as Hyundai had done.

“Korean Hyundai came into being about the same time as Proton, in the early 1980s.

“Proton’s current sales averages between 100,000 and 120,000 units a year, while Hyundai recorded 5 million car sales a year worldwide,” said Khor.

According to him, even fresh graduates preferred to buy a Perodua – the Myvi for instance – rather than a Proton Iriz, which is much cheaper than the former.

“Now is the time for Proton to pick up the pieces and attend to issues immediately to regain the people’s trust.”