Improved proton quality by 2024 – GCPA negative scores 55% lower since 2019, product reliability 44% better

Yesterday, Proton held a press conference at the Tanjung Malim factory to talk about its quality initiatives, which cover the entire lifecycle from product development to after-sales. This event seems especially timely in view growing problems plaguing one of its main competitors.

The national automaker is certainly feeling the heat from the wave of well-priced Chinese SUVs entering the market – a fact that company officials have revealed both privately and publicly. general public. But they have had to work hard to communicate their commitment to quality as a differentiator in the market. It’s funny, because its visuals aren’t also ages ago long ago.

Proton said its quality initiatives are aligned with three strategic aspirations – to be Number 1 automobile manufacturer in Malaysia and number 3 in ASEAN, as well as achieving consistent quality by applying global standards. The company claims about 800 of its total employees contribute to continuous quality improvement.

To achieve the goal of maximizing customer satisfaction, Proton has focused on four key areas: engineering and project quality, supplier quality, manufacturing quality and market quality. The first of these refers to the company’s ability to produce new models efficiently and effectively.

This includes adopting the New Product Development System (NPDS), a global standard for project managers that conduct rigorous gate reviews to identify and resolve potential quality issues early in the process. vehicle development process, ensuring new vehicle models are launched with high quality standards. .

Using this approach, the market interest rate index (i.e., percentage of customer concerns/cases) within the first 100 days of launch decreased from 6% when product launch. CKD X70 by 2020 down to only 2%. S70 last year.

Technical quality also means adopting new trends, especially in the field of Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric (CASE) vehicles, to ensure the technological readiness of our products. Proton products. Currently, 4G connectivity is available on all the company’s product lines except saga. sagawith plans to switch to 5G technology by 2030.

Meanwhile, level 2 semi-automated driving technology is already present in the car. X50, X90 and S70, with this year X70 upgraded Also ready to get them. As for car sharing, there are no plans yet, but Proton wants to introduce some type of service by 2030. Finally, the company is making a big push towards electrification with the launch of car sharing service. first electric battery And plug-in hybrid cars next year.

Proton has also worked to improve supplier quality, using two additional global standards – the structured Advanced Project Qualification (APQP) process and the Product Part Approval Process (PPAP). . The latter includes essential tools for developing, manufacturing and distributing components that meet customer satisfaction.

The company has also considered upgrading the capacity of suppliers by applying Quality Assurance System Audit (QASA) and annual supplier quality performance checks, ensuring durable product quality. sustainability through advanced process control. Proton said it had recorded a 43% increase in the number of suppliers able to achieve a minimum QASA standard of BBB (satisfactory).

Next is production quality. You may remember that shortly after Geely acquired a 49% stake in Proton, the company adopted its predecessor’s Global Customer Product Audit (GCPA) scoring system to measure defects on new car. In 2019, Proton recorded one big improvement in its GCPA scorefrom 6,388 to 1,329 (the lower, the better), getting close to the benchmark set by Geely and Volvo.

Since then, the company has reduced its score further, by a staggering 55%. Unlike previous years, Proton has decided not to release specific numbers, but the 55% reduction would put its GCPA score at around 500.

To generate a GCPA score, inspectors inspect 1% of approved vehicles daily (or “lulus”) following a pre-delivery inspection (PDI). They test each vehicle for safety, security and general functionality, as well as conduct performance assessments and static assessments of perceived quality.

Last but not least is market quality, which refers to how well the quality of a car is maintained. Later it has been sold. Essentially, Proton will look for any reported defects after the car’s launch and take steps to fix those issues.

The company can detect post-launch problems through Initial Stage Control (ISC) in the first 100 days after a new product launch, warranty claim analysis, market quality meetings daily school and sentiment reports on social networks. Once flagged, issues are sent to the attack, improvement and quality circle teams for remediation, with the results reviewed in weekly quality management meetings attended by CEO Li Chunrong.

Proton claims that since the system was implemented, it has seen a significant reduction in warranty claims and an improvement in its 12-month product reliability index (12MIS) of 44 %. The company added that it has resolved approximately 1,005 post-launch issues since 2019.

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