PROTON PARTNERS MPC IN CROSS INDUSTRY BENCHMARKING CONFERENCE
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PROTON and MPC explore opportunities to collaborate on sustainable productivity initiatives
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Cross-industry benchmarking sessions help drive business activity transition for participants
Subang Jaya, 24 February 2025 – As PROTON moves into the next phase of its business plan by exploring new vehicle segments, the need to carefully manage the transition process has become increasingly evident. With over 40 years of automotive industry history as well as the combined resources of its shareholders, DRB-HICOM and Geely, the experience required to enter the EV market and start construction of its first NEV (New Energy Vehicle) assembly plant was readily available, but the company also wanted to benchmark its own internal change management process with other industry leaders with successful track records.
To achieve this aim PROTON collaborated with the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), the government agency tasked to drive and enhance nation’s productivity, to hold a single day conference titled “Embrace Transformation; Innovate Towards Productive Operations.” The shared aim of the event was to:
- Benchmark ideas and best practices related to business strategies and productivity (QCD)
- Understand how other industries perform strategic transformation and operational initiatives towards achieving business excellence
- Explore collaboration opportunities with MPC to work with the government on future and sustainable productivity initiatives
Aside from PROTON and MPC other presenters during the conference were Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM), a global leader in the aerospace and composites supply chain, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), Malaysia's largest container terminal, and Arthur D. Little, the world’s first global management consulting firm. Attendees to the event included team members from MPC, representatives from the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) and the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics & IoT Institute (MARii), and the aforementioned companies along with PROTON’s senior managers, as well as members of the Proton Edar Dealer’s Association (PEDA) and Proton Vendor’s Association (PVA).
Both CTRM and PTP are leaders in their respective fields and were awarded the MITI Industry Excellence Award (AKI MITI) in 2024.
“MPC drives national productivity holistically at the national, sectoral and enterprise levels by developing future talent, driving digitalization and innovation, and building a robust ecosystem. By collaborating with public and private sector entities like PROTON we hope to boost productivity growth and national competitiveness, ultimately leading to shared well-being and prosperity,” said Dr Mazrina Mohamed Ibramsah, Deputy Director General of Malaysia Productivity Corporation.
“As PROTON moves ahead to execute our business plan, we need to ensure we maximise our productivity while managing the transition in various areas. Moving forwards, the key areas of change we have identified as critical to our success include moving from a pure ICE to an ICE and NEV model lineup, from being a domestic focused entity to a domestic and international sales effort, from a single to a multi-brand company and moving all production activities from Shah Alam to the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV) in Tanjong Malim.
“By collaborating with MPC, we are leveraging on expertise that is gained from having a wider view across multiple industries while learning and adopting best practices from companies who have gone through their own business transformation journeys. In return, we hope PROTON has also been able to share some insights from the automotive industry for the mutual benefit of all our partners,” added Dr Li Chunrong, Chief Executive Officer, PROTON.