More than 100 Malaysian parts suppliers and vendors affiliated with Proton are reportedly facing a severe financial strain due to escalating operational expenses as a result of dwindling orders, the New Straits Times reports.
The situation has prompted the Proton Vendors Association (PVA) to reach out to the national automaker, asking it for help in addressing the challenges vendors are encountering. However, the automaker has shown no willingness to address the issue, according to Datuk Liu Guoquan, president of the Malaysian Fujian General Chamber of Commerce.
He said that numerous suppliers and vendors are currently grappling with financial distress, primarily due to dwindling orders recently. He attributed the root cause of the issue to Proton’s failure to fulfill the promised quantity of parts orders for its X50, X70 and X90 models, which had resulted in a 30 to 50% reduction in parts production output.
Echoing these sentiments, an anonymous supplier disclosed that while the original contract from Proton promised to obtain the supply of parts for 1,500 units of the X90 per month, the actual monthly order volume was only between 200 and 300 units.
As a result of this shortfall, Liu said many vendors are experiencing financial losses, forcing some to cease operations altogether. He added that if the situation persists, it could lead to the collapse of many suppliers, affecting around 50,000 employees across the automotive industry chain.
He criticised Proton’s..