Proton Car Owners Highly Advised to be Vigilant of Imitation Spare Parts
SUBANG JAYA, 14 December 2010 – In the interest of the safety of its customers, Proton today prompts its car owners to be vigilant against the purchase and use of imitation spare parts that are being passed-off as genuine components in the market.
The reminder comes in the wake of imitation parts being available in the market, packaged to resemble Proton Genuine Parts using similar packaging and labeling. These components are being sold at a cheaper price but do not conform to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) quality and safety standards.
“These parts are not only inferior in quality, do not last nor perform to the standards of original components, and are in breach of intellectual property rights, but they are also capable of inflicting serious risks to the safety of Proton car owners and further damage to vehicles,” said Proton Edar Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim.
“We always advise our customers to only go to our service branches, Authorized Service Dealers or Parts Stockist instead of others to be sure that they are purchasing original components,” stressed Mohamad Shukor, who was delivering an opening speech at the Proton Edar Parts Stockists Mid Year Review for Financial Year 2010/2011.
“Our biggest concern is the fact that these parts are packaged to look like Proton Genuine Parts, as they are packed using similar-looking packaging and labeling, yet sold at much cheaper prices, deliberately intended at confusing or hoodwinking consumers.”
For the benefit of Proton car owners to maintain their Proton cars at optimum condition at all time, Mohamad Shukor said there are two generally acceptable types of components available for Proton cars in the market, namely Proton Genuine Parts and Proton Second Branding Parts.
Proton Genuine Parts are components that have been developed by Proton and are also known as OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts. These components have been developed and tested for both quality and durability.
Also made available by Proton are the Proton Second Branding Parts. Manufactured by Proton, these parts are offered to customers whose vehicle warranty has expired, and as an option for those seeking lower-cost of ownership compared to purchasing Proton Genuine Parts. Proton is also in the midst of rebranding and increasing the number of line items in its Second Branding Parts, which it plans to launch soon, offering more affordable parts to customers.
Replacement Equipment Parts (RE Parts) meanwhile, are components that have been developed by manufacturers other than Proton using their own branding and packaging. These components offer quality that might not meet the specifications of Proton Genuine Parts and Proton Second Branding Parts, with shorter usage life cycle but sold at lower prices.
The fourth type, and most threatening to safety, is imitation components that are being packaged to look like Proton Genuine Parts. Imitation components result in undesirable consequences, often causing car owners to incur more repair costs due to secondary defects resulted from the use of these parts, and in the worst case scenario, have been known to fail and can cause road accidents. Such components are also not always compatible and at times are forced-fitted to a vehicle, which causes irreversible damage in which an original part can no longer be installed in future.
“Of course with the availability of the cheaper imitation spare parts in the market, which are of substandard quality, the original components are then being perceived as be “expensive” in the eyes of consumers. However, I wish to iterate that Proton parts are being reasonably priced, and with this price, comes assured quality,” explained Mohamad Shukor.
He added to say that, “The ownership cost of a Proton car is intended to be low and affordable to the masses and therefore it would be unwise for car owners to stake their safety and the lives of their loved ones on imitation components when the cost savings are negligible.”
Mohamad Shukor continued to say that Proton, with the help of the authorities, is taking steps to weed out the distribution, sale and use of these imitation spare parts. Under the Trade Description Act 1972, the selling of imitation parts is an offence punishable by a maximum fine of RM100,000 or 3 years jail or both if committed by an individual or maximum of RM250,000 fine if committed by a company.
Customers can purchase Proton Genuine Parts at all Proton Edar’s Service Centres, authorized service centres, Exclusive Proton Parts Stockists, authorized Proton Parts Stockists and their agents. Car owners in doubt of parts they purchased can also send the parts together with the packing and invoice or receipt for verification to Proton or contact Proton’s i-CARE hotline at 1 800 888 398 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1 800 888 398 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1 800 888 398 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Pictures: Official Proton release
 with better quality filters as opposed to imitation (L))
