Malaysian national carmaker Proton has formalized strategic partnerships with three E-Bidding Companies (EBC), namely myTukar, MUV and Carsome, to refine the disposal process of trade-in cars for customers.

Proton said in a statement on Friday that by collaborating with the EBCs, the company is confident it has taken a significant step forward towards delivering a faster and more efficient way for customers to own new cars.

According to the statement, Proton’s partnership with EBCs will enable customers to send their vehicles for auction through a user-friendly online platform.

This reduces the need for customers to visit multiple dealerships or negotiate with potential buyers, saving them valuable time and effort.

Through a fair and open auction system, customers will be able to receive competitive trade-in values for their vehicles.

The transparent pricing model also ensures that customers can make informed decisions during the trade-in process while the payment and ownership transfer processes are expedited to minimize any potential delays or complications, providing customers with a seamless experience.

“We are thrilled to join forces with myTukar, MUV and Carsome as we believe this transforms the trade-in experience for our customers,

“By leveraging on their expertise in e-commerce and auction platforms, the EBCs offer our customers a seamless and reliable solution for disposing of their trade-in cars, while also receiving competitive trade-in values,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Proton.

According to the statement, as sales volume continue to rise, the need to offer customers a better way to trade-in and dispose of their old cars has become apparent.

These partnerships are expected to provide customers with a range of benefits, including enhanced convenience, trustworthiness, competitive trade-in values, transparency in pricing, secure payment and ownership transfer, daily auctions, faster disposal, and comprehensive inspections.

“Over the last five years, Proton has increased the number of models offered and updated our current line-up, while improving product quality and introducing connectivity technology in our models,” said Roslan Abdullah.

According to him, consumer confidence has increased due to these efforts as well as improvements made at the dealership level.

“Working with EBCs will help to enhance these efforts as well as the trade-in value of our models while helping to facilitate customers who intend to upgrade their vehicles,” he added.

He also noted Proton is the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to form strategic partnerships with EBCs and they think this will help pave the way for faster and more transparent trade-in transactions for customers and in turn help drive new car sales.

“Additionally, by using open platforms, the resale value for our models can be established helping to build consumer confidence and giving a more accurate ownership picture to buyers,” he added.

Proton began as Malaysia’s first national car project, founded with the aim to accelerate Malaysia’s economic development and lay the foundations for the local automotive industry.

In 2017, Proton entered its next phase to be a modern and global automotive brand; through a partnership between its two principals, Malaysian conglomerate DRB-HICOM and Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely.

MyTukar is a Malaysia-based digital used car platform owned by Singapore’s used car marketplace Carro.

Started out as a bidding platform for used car dealers in 2013, Muv is also a Malaysia-based marketplace for used vehicles.

Carsome is a Malaysia-based integrated car e-commerce platform, providing end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers, from car inspection to ownership transfer to financing.

With presence across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore, the firm aims to digitalize the region’s used car industry by reshaping and elevating the car buying and selling experience.

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