Proton and Perodua released public statements justifying their products against ASEAN NCAP top tether fitment issue

Kuala Lumpur: As reported in our previous news, for the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) and its announcement against the received complaints from consumers on the alteration of safety specifications in one of the vehicles tested. Malaysia's prominent car makers, Proton and Perodua has issued statements in public defying that their cars meet safety ratings and safety standards on ASEAN NCAP.

Proton, on its official Facebook page, has released the following statement, as a response to the current issue:

“Proton Holdings Berhad (“Proton” or “the Company”) would like to issue a statement in relation to the statement released by ASEAN NCAP on 13 October 2015.

Proton has been testing many of its cars worldwide such as Australia and previously in Europe. The company has also sought the service of world-class agencies and test labs to ensure stringent tests and outcome.

From the experience of dealing with leading and world-class agencies, the normal procedures of these agencies would be to thoroughly inform and notify the company in the event of discrepancy, defects or faulty elements, before any public statements are issued regarding the tested cars.

In this instance, we will consult ASEAN NCAP on the matter as we have not been notified officially. Hence, we are unable to confirm or deny the matter.

We wish to assure the public that all Proton cars meet the regulatory safety standards in all markets that we are operating in, especially in Malaysia. We will continuously pursue to enhance our products and services as well as make improvements where necessary.”

Read Also: All our cars adhere to safety requirements, conform to ASEAN NCAP safety ratings – Perodua CEO

Following the issue, another automaker giant of Malaysia, Perodua also came ahead giving its own reasons to clarify that its products adhere to all the safety requirements by a model and confirmed safety rating awarded by ASEAN NCAP. Company's President and CEO, Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh, has issued the following statement in the similar context:

“Perodua wishes to assure our customers that all our vehicles adhere to safety requirements and conform to the safety ratings awarded by ASEAN NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme).

Perodua does not compromise on the safety and the wellbeing of our customers and their loved ones.

Members of the public are welcomed to come to our sales showrooms and speak with our authorised sales advisors to know and understand more about our products’ safety features.”

Read Also: ASEAN NCAP: single unified safety rating for every 2017 car model!

However, the agency has not mentioned any specific model name but whichever is the car by any manufacturer, the car will need to be retested as a lower specification variant or have its total rating suspended. Now, it totally depends on the manufacturer how they deal with the issue. But it is rare that an item, once installed as standard, is omitted later on. It does happen, but it would be hard for the company to justify, especially as prices usually go up. To ask people to pay more and then remove what was previously a standard item would be unfair although that’s not cheating either.

If a company does make a change on a safety item, then it will have to accept that the results of tests cannot be used to promote the model unless it makes very clear to the buyers that those results do not apply. That will ensure that the buyers are not misled.