One of the things that Motor Trader Malaysia managing editor Keshvinder Dhillon advises is leveraging off its own foreign partner, Toyota, which owns 25% of Perodua.

“Toyota has a wider range of models compared with Geely.

“Consumers can assume that anything Proton can come up with under Geely’s ownership, Perodua will already have an answer to,” he told FMT.

However, Keshvinder warned that if Proton decides to lower its car segments, only then would Perodua have a competitor to look out for.

“If Proton decides on expanding or rebadging Geely cars that offer prices ranging between RM90,000 and RM160,000, it will be no match for Perodua,” he said.

Careta.my managing editor Hezeri Samsuri echoed Keshvinder’s views, saying he believes Perodua will stand its ground in the market as the company has been well-trained by its Japanese partner.

“For example, Perodua is able to make facelifts of their products within a few months of a car’s launching, when they get negative feedback from customers.

“This is a process that usually takes at least a couple of years for most car companies. That is how fast Perodua can adapt to market forces,” he said.

Hezeri said a drop in sales was inevitable, but Perodua has good foreign partners and, most importantly, the brand has strong support among Malaysians.

“Car quality is more than just power windows,” he said.

Perodua, arguably Proton’s main rival being the second national car, recorded 207,100 units in sales last year and has 35.7% in terms of market share in Malaysia.

Where Proton started its business more than 30 years ago with a strategic partnership with Mitsubishi of Japan, Perodua partnered with another Japanese carmaker, Daihatsu, since the early 1990s.

However, thanks to Toyota Motor Corp’s 51% buyout of Daihatsu in 1998 – Toyota made a full acquisition last year – Perodua has grown by leaps and bounds since the early 2000s thanks to the technology gained from one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world.