Proton Pakistan has confirmed a delay of another two months in the delivery of their Completely Built Units (CBUs) following a halt in car production in Malaysia.
The development means that the customers who had booked their Proton Saga and Proton X70s as early as March this year will have to wait another two months, subject to an improved coronavirus situation in Malaysia.
The delay, which could now go up to seven months for new bookings, badly hampers the market credibility of Al-Haj Automotive Private Limited, the Pakistani partner of Proton, which is a relatively new player in the auto sector.
The customers are also unhappy with the development; the comment section of Proton Pakistan’s Facebook page is rife with angry customers, who called the company’s behaviour ‘unfair and unjust.’
One of the customers, who had reportedly booked his Proton Saga in March, demanded a full refund, saying he was fed up with the company’s delaying tactics. Another user questioned the company’s credibility and called the booking procedure a fraud and scam.
FMCO in Malaysia halts PROTON's operations
Responding to the situation, the company issued a statement, saying it was "sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers and promised to regularize the deliveries by the end of the year".
It anticipated another two months' delay due to the hold-up in supplies of CBUs and CKDs amid the alarming pandemic situation in Malaysia.
The Covid-19 situation has worsened in Malaysia with the country reporting up to 8,000 daily cases. Taking drastic measures to control the pandemic, its government issued an official notification last week to extend the Full-Movement-Control-Order (FMCO) until further notice.
Proton X50 SUV is also coming to Pakistan
Under FMCO, there is a curfew-like situation in Malaysia with only essential businesses allowed to operate. In such a situation, the auto sector among other industries has been shut down, halting the already disturbed car production, including those of Proton.
The notification conveyed that the industries will not be allowed to reopen until the daily number of reported COVID-19 cases declines from above 8,000 to below 4,000.
Proton Pakistan’s local assembly plant is almost ready for production, but it currently relies on the import of CKD kits from Malaysia.