Aftersales support is an important part of customer satisfaction and that means ensuring that required parts for maintenance or repair are readily available at service centres. With the growing number of owners in Sarawak, Proton has set up a new Regional Parts Centre (RPC) in the state capital of Kuching to ensure that the service centres can get parts quickly.
The new 28,000 sq. ft RPC has over 3 times the storage capacity of the facility in use before. It will distribute parts not only to outlets in Sarawak but also Sabah, which also has a large Proton vehicle population.
Aside from its increased space and capability to handle the direct shipment of parts, the new RPC will also be able to store up to 6 containers, enabling it to receive multiple orders concurrently. It will also be able to handle increased throughput, reducing the time it takes to process and deliver orders to outlets.
Reducing waiting time
“The new Proton RPC in Kuching is designed to cater to the needs of our dealers and their customers in East Malaysia and reduce the waiting time for parts in a region where logistics can be challenging. It will have the ability to hold up to 3 months of stock and can even receive direct shipments of parts from overseas vendors,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy CEO of Proton.
“We expect to see a reduction in waiting time for accident repairs to be completed. In addition to the 3 months of stocks held at the RPC, our dealers are also required to have 3 months maintenance parts stock. This is an example of Proton’s efforts to continuously improve aftersales service to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction. We understand many may be wary, but I would like to reassure both current and future owners, parts are available for your new Proton,” Encik Roslan said.
SUV models boost sales
Proton’s sales in East Malaysia have improved steadily since 2019, following the launch of the X70 and X50 SUV models. Total sales in the region increased by 120% from 2018 to 2021, and with healthy booking numbers in 2022, the company is expecting a further 20% growth in year-on-year sales. From January to October this year, Proton delivered 115,366 vehicles, an increase of 33.6% compared to the same period in 2021.
Besides the SUVs, the other new models have also helped boost Proton’s sales volume in East Malaysia. “For East Malaysia, the Proton Saga remains as our most popular model, followed by the Proton X50. Last year, we sold 8,692 units of the Saga and 2,934 units of the X50; based on the current booking trend, we forecast sales to exceed 10,000 and 4,200 units, respectively,” said Encik Roslan.
