In fact, this has nothing to do with being Malaysian or patriotism. Malaysian buyers are an educated bunch, playing it safe with their hard earned money, which is why other than national brands, Toyota is a solid choice, as it lives up to its reputation - resale value, good service *as rated by JD Power*.
Myself, and everybody on ZTH would really hope and wish Proton could muster their game together and deliver a good, solid car, and we would buy it.
The reason why Preve, and this new Suprima S doesn't sell as well is because at that price level, one can purchase a brand new Toyota Vios J, or a Forte I think. Yes, they are different class of vehicles, but they share one thing in common, price.
You can argue that we are paying more for less, maybe. But Preve is selling for rip off price in Malaysia compared to Australia.
Preve Manual 1.6 IAFM+
Australia price: AUD$15,990 (MYR47,596)
6 airbags
Malaysia price: MYR$59,990 (AUD$20,156)
2 airbags
Preve CVT 1.6 IAFM+
Australia price: AUD$17,990 (MYR53,549)
6 airbags
Malaysia price: MYR62,990 (AUD$21,117)
2 airbags
So my question to you is, do we (Malaysians) look like fools to Proton and the Government?
Why should we blindly be "patriotic" and buy Proton?
Why should we pay more?
Why should we get less safety features? Is the lives of Malaysians not equivalent to Australians?
Toyota Prius C
Australia Price: RRP AUD$23,990, Drive away price (OTR) AUD$27,550 (MYR82,000)
Malaysia Price: MYR97,000 (AUD$32,519) despite having NO TAX payable, the price EXCEEDS the Australian price WITH TAX.
So in conclusion, we are made to buy Malaysians car because, well, we're getting shafted. Even a Prius C without tax in Malaysia the price is higher than Australia with tax. And then our own Malaysia car is cheaper in Australia with tax, handling and freight, insurance etc.
Logical? Make sense?
And bear in mind, you work in McDonalds in Malaysia you earn RM5 per hour, if you work in McDonalds in Australia you earn AUD$5 per hour. So we are royally screwed, people just don't realise it yet.
