Proton opens a new Regional Parts Center in East Malaysia, to speed up parts delivery by 30%

KUALA LUMPUR: After introducing the new X50 in June, Proton is now ready with the facelift version of its other top-selling SUV, the X70. With the upgraded models expected to drive increases in sales, the national automaker has opened a new Regional Parts Center in East Malaysia. The new facility, located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, follows the opening of a similar centre in Sarawak last year. 

The new facility will improve parts delivery times by 30%, thanks to increased output from the automaker’s main parts centre in West Malaysia and direct shipments from overseas. It will help the brand fulfil the rising demand of its models in Sabah, which is one of the top three states for vehicle sales in Malaysia. 

The brand’s market share in Sabah has increased from 10% in 2018 to 27.4% in 2024. The credit goes to the increasing popularity of the new X-series models and the Saga in the region. 

The new centre is located in Inanam and covers 28,000 square feet, making it 2.5 times larger than the previous location. It can handle up to six containers of parts at once, and process an average of 26 containers per month, which means it can store up to three months of stock. This increased storage space ensures the quick delivery of the parts to dealerships and customers.

“With growing customer demand over the past few years, PROTON’s previous warehouse facilities in Sabah were overflowing with parts and running inefficiently due to a lack of space. The opening of this new facility in Kota Kinabalu will complement its counterpart in Kuching and both will function collectively as parts distribution centres for after sales parts and components for East Malaysia.”

“This overall improvement in storage has created a buffer for demand surges and fluctuations, enabling us to increase parts throughput and as of today, we are rapidly addressing the backlog of orders from our dealers and customers in this market,” said Edmund Lim, Vice President of Sales and After Sales, PROTON Edar.

Further boosting the order fulfilment in the region is weekly airfreight and sea freight services with the help of parts handling capacity at regional parts centres in East Malaysia. The latter can handle 28 containers per month, enabling storage of up to three months' worth of parts.

The automaker also implemented a new warehouse management system earlier this year which benefited the company significantly. It increased the daily delivery capacity by 66% from 180 lines to 300 in July, with a target of 400 lines by the next month. 

“Proton sales in East Malaysia have multiplied by a factor of 3.1 times to 23,871 units in 2023 from 7,697 units in 2018. With 8,000 bookings for the 2024 Proton X50 under our belt plus the upcoming 2025 Proton X70 launch this month, we foresee another increase in the state by the end of the year. Therefore, with the rise in sales leading to a higher demand for parts, the launch of a larger, more advanced parts centre will guarantee adequate parts supply not only for new vehicles but also to improve our after sales service,” added Edmund Lim.

Also read: Save the date - 2025 Proton X70 launching in Malaysia on Aug 15