Last month, two car dealerships resigned from Proton Pakistan, citing professional differences. The vows for Al-Haj Automotive, the local partner of Proton, seem to continue; first, it was a protest by the consumers who haven't received their X70s, then the resignation of these dealerships, and now another two dealerships have taken the same step. According to our sources and market reports, one dealership in Lahore and one in Islamabad have decided to part ways with the car assembler. Reasons of Resignation  In a letter to the company, Lahore-based dealership Defence Motors stated that their relationship with Proton Pakistan stands terminated, which is hereby made public for all parties concerned. "Therefore, all warranty claims in the process of settlement or in future and pending refund claims or in future and delivery of vehicles and all other incidental matters will be directly dealt with Al-Haj Automotive," the letter read. Meanwhile, the second dealership based in Islamabad, Ittehad Motors, has stated different reasons for the end of its partnership with Al-Haj Automotive. According to details, no information on delivery dates for the vehicles booked as far as 2020, repeated revision of prices despite late deliveries, and price revisions even after receiving full customer payments are among the primary reasons behind this decision. The dealership further mentioned that Al-Haj Automotive repeatedly delayed the encashment of refund cheques. The letter also mentioned that the non-availability of parts and lubricants from the company has also caused delays in the aftersales services of Proton cars. "Based on all facts, we have decided to resign from being an authorized dealership of Proton Pakistan," the letter concluded. After the previous month's consumer protest and the resignation of two dealerships, Proton announced the resumption of production. However, it may be too late as consumers still wait for their vehicles or the encashment of their cheques. What do you think about the resignation of two more dealerships from Proton Pakistan? Tell us in the comments section.  

In a recent announcement, Proton Pakistan resumed its production after a pause due to governmental policies and the macroeconomic landscape. The company commended its customers for being understanding and patient towards the delay in production and deliveries.  Proton Pakistan's comeback brings forth two significant milestones. The month of August witnesses the resumption of Proton SAGA's production. The production of Proton X70 will follow this in October this year.  As the gears shift, Proton Pakistan also informed about the changes in its dealer network landscape. The company had opted for better alternate dealerships in Lahore and Faisalabad to establish its own superior 3S dealership network, which led to a few old dealerships leaving them. These dealerships had also announced their departure from their partnership with Proton Pakistan. New dealerships have since become part of the company’s network and will be catering to the customers of Lahore and Faisalabad. Delivery Details By Proton Pakistan Due to COVID-19 and other politico-economic factors, deliveries of several carmakers had been delayed. However, Proton stood out among them as their customers have been waiting on their deliveries since 2022. One of the affected consumers of Proton Pakistan contacted PakWheels.com, sharing the details. He claimed that there are around 130 people who have “made full payments to Al-Haj Automotive for X70 but are still waiting for the delivery even after one year.” The company even delayed refunding cheques to its customers. The reasons behind production delays were the delays in opening LCs and supply shortages due to the after-effects of COVID-19.  What are your thoughts on this? Share with us in the comments below!

The situation for Proton Pakistan seems to get worse day by day. First, the case of non-delivered Proton X70s emerged a couple of weeks ago when dozens of consumers told PakWheels.com that they had yet to receive their cars, even after a year. As per consumers, the company has not fulfilled its promises and is still not giving a clear delivery deadline. Furthermore, the cheques for August were further moved to September, resulting in a protest by the buyers. And the series of problems for Al-Haj Automotive continues. Resignation of Proton Pakistan Dealerships  According to details, two dealerships have resigned from Proton Pakistan so far. One from Faisalabad and the second in Lahore. As per our sources, the dealerships were not happy with the car company and decided to end their partnership with them. In a message, the Faisalabad dealership, Lyallpur Motors, said, "We have officially resigned from our position as a Proton dealer in Faisalabad. Our dealership is now under HAVAL Pakistan, named Haval Downtown." Meanwhile, our sources have told us that the dealership in Lahore named Momentum Motors has ended its relationship with Proton Pakistan over work ethics differences. There are few details about this divorce between dealerships and Proton Pakistan, but our sources have told us that the non-delivery of cars and some professional discrepancies have led to this situation. Al-Haj Automotive, or Proton Pakistan, entered the local market with a bang after it launched a sedan, Proton Saga, and a crossover SUV, X70. However, the COVID-19 shutdown, especially in Malaysia, caused hurdles in the import of CKD kits, leading to late deliveries and, ultimately, anger among consumers. The situation for the company doesn't seem to improve in the near future; although the company has assured its customers that the deliveries will be started in October 2023, the lack of confidence is a huge issue. And now, the closure of two dealerships would take the whole situation from bad to worse, as it is not a good sign for any car company that its dealerships are resigning. What do you think about dealerships' resignation from Proton Pakistan? Please tell us in the comments section.  

The late delivery of cars is not a new issue in Pakistan as consumers have been long complaining about it. The problem became more serious during the COVID-19 and even continued as aftershocks of the pandemic. There were multiple reasons behind it including lockdowns globally, unavailability of containers, import restrictions and lack of raw materials among others. Although, a number of companies have worked on it but Al-Haj Automotive or Proton Pakistan is one of the major companies facing the late delivery problem, hurting their business and above all the consumers who have booked its crossover SUV, Proton X70. Affected Consumers Last week, one of the affected consumers of Proton Pakistan contacted PakWheels.com sharing the details. He claimed that there are around 130 people who have "made full payments to Al-Haj Automotive for X70 but still waiting for the delivery even after one year." "We want to share our story with the world as we have detailed payment documents, consumer court cases details," the buyer said, adding that the affected ones are depressed both mentally and financially. He mentioned that some of the customers have made payments in September-October 2022, but haven't their vehicles. "Around 130 have made full payments in January 2023," he claimed. Sharing more details of grave situation, the consumer stated that the bank cheques by Proton Pakistan for July 2023, have bounced. "Earlier, they said they will honour these in August but now they have extended it to September," he stated. Hence, the affected have decided to hold a protest against the car company on 28th of August. Questions by Customers Talking about their concerns and queries, the consumer said that we want to ask some questions from Al-Haj Automotive, which are: Import restriction was lifted in January 2023. Why Al-Haj remains unable to supply vehicles? Proton Saga kits are arriving. But not x70. Is it true that Saga LCs are with National Bank, and X70 with Bank of Khyber? Is it true that Bank of Khyber is not opening LCs of Al-Haj group for some previous payment of Rs. 300 million? Is it true that there has been no LC with Bank of Khyber since Oct 2023? How many customers have made full payment of Rs. 7.2 million and waiting for vehicles. Is it true that 130 customers are waiting for their vehicles? The dealerships are saying that vehicles will be delivered in September 23. If there are no LCs, how is this possible? If LCs are opened today, how long do you think would take to deliver the vehicle? When LCs were not open and plant was closed, why did Al Haj receive full payment from customers. Due to inflation and dollar price, customers are feeling mental and financial stress. How does proton plan to win customers trust? Proton Pakistan's Reply  To get the answers of these questions, we contacted representative of Proton Pakistan. He told PakWheels.com,  "stock is ready in Malaysia, as soon as we open the LC, it can be shipped to Pakistan immediately. Usually it takes 15 to 20 days to reach Karachi port." Answering the question about issue of non-deliveries, he said that non delivery was due to banks restrictions on dollars and opening of LCs. "Expected deliveries to be made till September-October 2023," he claimed. However, he didn't answer the rest of the questions, stating "information regarding banks is confidential. It cannot be discussed on any platform." Are you one of the affected of late deliveries of Proton X70? Tell us in the comments section.