Proton has always been trying. Its inception was an effort to try to change the country’s economic landscape to chase the industrialization vision set by most developing countries in the Asian region at the time. Ever since the brand grew from just a single model of Proton Saga to its latest lineup with the 2025 Proton X70 under its new co-parent company Geely, the company has been under constant criticism by its own so-called “loyal fans”.

Now on to the subject of motorsports, the love-hate relationship the brand has with this industry has somewhat given the brand some of its pedigree in terms of performance expertise. Proton has always been around in motorsports even during its early days but it has never achieved its target of becoming a proper establishment as a performance outlet that is well respected within the region or the community. The big question we have about this is why wouldn’t the brand focus on this area. Why wouldn’t it want to use this channel to solidify its commercial positioning?

A simple guess would be, poor execution and “syok sendiri” approach to their journey in the world of motorsports along with being delusional that it can somehow be treated as a weekend approach towards branding exercise. But this may come across as a harsh criticism by a bitter ex-personnel of Proton instead of a calculated and well-reasoned argument or statement (which may be true). But if we just take some time to go over the history of the brand in motorsport and tight it back to its product development; we can paint a picture of somewhat inconsistent and unfocused goal that was set by the management and the key project owners of this subject.

In a recent interview conducted by the brand’s own social media platform, the brand looks to be in close to amateurish standard in presenting more than 20 years of their motorsports heritage. Not towards how laid back the execution of the interview was set, but rather the content curated to be discussed in the session. It was deemed very much as a blanket coverage on the subject and touches only what was being teased earlier from their Proton S70 launch regarding certain domestic participation of the brand. Understandably, the brand has no firm plan to return its focus to the motorsports and performance industry.

We do understand the price a manufacturer has to pay when it comes to dealing with the world of motorsports. Lots of brands have come and go in each of the world’s leading championships across all kinds of racing principles be it Rally, Ovals, Road Racing, and even the pinnacle of motorsports as in Formula 1. For us at Drivin On, we’d love to see our beloved local brand whether it be Proton or even other brands that may arises in this segment no matter which level they’re targeting. Most importantly, it has to be done right with the right mindset and the right team. Support will always come when there is a solid “business case” being presented to all potential investors. All they needed was the right composition of well-certified and passionate members of the project from technical point of view down to the business strategic and commercialization part of the venture.

As mentioned before, the cost to be on such a journey will not be small and definitely will be a huge ask for the firm to commit. Being able to regenerate themselves financially under the umbrella of motorsports be it through branding commercialization or actual technological sales and services approach will help the firm to be sustainable in the highly monetary-driven arena. The main question now is, will Proton ever be serious in it’s venture into the world of Motorsports be it globally or locally? Somehow, we believe the move would serve as a beneficial long-term development of its brand from where it is right now.