That's why it's sales are dropping at least 20% year on year even with 4 new models launched.
What Kendall said is absolutely correct. The first few months yes you feel like you're driving a brand new car but after 1-2 years dunno what happen the car just "disintegrated" and you feel like you're driving a very old car. Not sure about the new Persona but i guess coming from the same factory, same machines that build the other models, same vendor, same engine, I bet its the same result. The road noise, loud engine, poor FC, poor refinement makes you a very miserable driver and owner comparing to Japanese or Korean cars which still feels the same when you first purchased after many years. That probably explain why people are not buying Proton cars and 95% of first time Proton owner will never buy a Proton ever again. You can check with Proton to see how many buyers are actually repeated buyers. I can say probably less than 5%. The volume sellers like Saga and persona are probably new buyers? First time car owner and once own, never Proton again.
Perdana: people waited 20 years later to find that it's an older gen Honda Accord. That explains why I still haven't seen one on the road yet.
Suprima S: the worst model ever. Ugly beyond belief and hardly see one on the road like the perdana. Dunno why they make this car in the first place.
Preve: a decent looker with good exterior design. But interior is like 1980s. Engine is the loudest I had sat in, poor NVH but ok handling? But how do you define handling? It's really subjective to the driver. Vios and City have good handling too. The tagline Lotus handling is just over rated and tacky in any sense. People will still choose the City and Vios over Preve.
Exora: decent family carrier but it's very outdated with very poor FC, old engine and reliability a major issue according to my uncle who owns the Turbo version. Had gone to the SC gods know how many times. People buy the cheaper and more reliable and quieter Alza, or spend a bit more on the Grand Livina and now more choices such as the BRV and even the Suzuki / proton Ertiga. Given that, the BRV has crossed over 6000 sales versus the 2000 of Ertiga which was launched months earlier. Proton poor brand name and conservative design perhaps?
Persona: design is subjective. Personally I find it ugly and dunno what proton is trying to bring out on this model. It just looks disproportionate. probably the 2nd best seller in Proton, price is competitive over the popular B segments of the Japanese. But most buyers will still choose the more expensive but much more enjoyment and quality City and Vios or Almera and Rio over this. Even 2nd hand Vios and City are cheaper than the new Persona and are highly sort after in the used market. Buyers are wary and will rather choose a used Jap model over getting a new Persona. That probably explains why the sales doesn't meet Proton expectation and target. Somehow parents and relatives have a strong distaste against Proton cars, probably due to the lost of trust for many years and Proton has not done anything to regain that trust.
Iriz: again like the Persona the design is subjective. There's something awkward looking about this car that makes me say the word "ewww" every time I see one passed by. Again this model didn't meet Proton target by a huge margin.
Saga: probably the ugliest small sedan I had ever seen in my life, like the Honda Amase and Maruti Swift sedan found in India? Proton could have revolutionised with the design in the new Saga since it's Proton most popular car. People are into design nowadays. It could have been Proton life saver but still they didn't bother to make changes.
With no new models for 2017 or even 2018, Proton is in a very risky state where it can continue to slide and lose its market share drastically further.
The current fleet just isn't enticing and stimulating enough for buyers. Personally I find none of the current models exciting and makes me want one.
If Proton can rebadge something like the design of hrv or BRV or the new Swift or Bezza SUV, or do some cosmetic changes to the ertiga like what they had done to the perdana and sell it at a very competitive pricing like what Perodua is doing, then buyers will look at it. This is what buyers want. After 32 years it seems that proton still dunno what malaysians want. good luck to Proton.
I would be thankful if the preve broke down once and for all so that I can change a new car rather than entering the workshop multiple times over minor problems.
This is what makes the preve miserable to live with.
I believe people who have limited budget would prefer to have a reliable car than fancy technology especially those who treat it as workhorse and running around for sales.
People like this don't have time to repair their car or leave their car in the workshop.