Proton teamed up with Funding Societies to offer credit facilities to dealers

KUALA LUMPUR: Proton has recently rolled out a one-year extended warranty for all its certified pre-owned (PCPO) cars, thus making the vehicle’s ownership more peaceful and joyful for customers. Now, the national automaker has come up to help out its dealers. And for that, it has joined hands with the Funding Societies (FS) offering credit facilities to dealers for financing the purchase of cars for floor stocking.

Known as the largest SME digital financing platform in Southeast Asia, Funding Societies has been providing business financing to SMEs since 2015. 

According to the FinTech company, it is committed to solve the financing needs of SMEs in Malaysia and the region as they are the backbone of the nation’s economy. It assists them in accessing funds, including requirements for collateral, complicated paperwork submission, and lengthy application process. 

Chai Kien Poon, Country Head, Funding Societies Malaysia, “Demand for personal vehicles saw an increase since the second half of 2020. Underlying this growth are concerns over shared transportation (Covid-19 health crisis) and accommodative government policies during the pandemic. With Funding Societies’ revolving credit facility, PROTON’s dealers can tap into that growth by increasing their inventory for sale across by increasing their floor stocking inventory of used cars.”

“In line with Funding Societies’ mission to provide financing facilities to underserved, creditworthy SMEs, this revolving credit facility provides PROTON’s dealers with a more seamless experience. They may utilise the facility any time and anywhere upon its activation. Additionally, dealers will have access to our online supply chain financing system to manage their financing facility with us,” added Chai.

“With PROTON’s sales volume increase over the past few years, we have seen an increase of trade-in or trade-up transactions. Through the dealer financing service provided by Funding Societies, our dealers can finance the purchase of floor stocks to enable the trade-in transaction,” said Wan Ahmad Fadzli Wan Mustafa, General Manager, Proton Edar.

“Dealers who wish to apply for financing may do so via Funding Societies’ online platform. They will be able to provide financing for up to 85% of the transaction value with repayment periods of up to 90 days. With this financial facility, our dealers can grow their business by raising short-term capital to manage their cash flow and even use it for new car purchases from Proton Edar as well,” concluded Wan Ahmad Fadzli.

A brief on Proton’s Used Car Management (UCM)

Founded in 2019, the automaker’s Used Car Management unit has 35 outlets retailing PCPO cars (Proton Certified Pre-Owned) in the country. It deals with the framework of operating procedures, provides training to Used Car Inspectors, and ensures the services provided by each outlet meet the expectations. 

To attract tech-savvy customers, it also has a dedicated PROTON used car website (http://used-cars.proton/com), letting them view stocks without walking into showrooms and get an estimated market price. 

It is to be noted that the cars sold under the brand’s used car programme undergo a thorough 201-point inspection. They are assured to be free of any major accident damage or flood and come with a one-year extended warranty as mentioned above.

Also read: Proton sales report out for October 2022; YTD sales surpass previous year figure