PROTON's Salawati Yusoff takes on added branding role

Salawati binti Mohd Yusoff has taken on the added role of chief brand officer at Proton New Energy Technology (PRO-NET), a new company that will spearhead sales and distributorship for smart vehicles and its own future new energy vehicle offerings. is a fully owned subsidiary of PROTON and will be run by a separate management team. Operations staff will consist of external hires from various industries.

Salawati reports to PRO-NET CEO Zhang Qiang, who has been at PROTON for the last five years focusing on sales and network development. She is tasked with developing a desirable brand image of the soon-to-be-launched product, and maintaining a positive public perception of that brand as part of the company's strategy.

"My vision is pretty straightforward for now. It is to execute the product brand launches and gain the desired market share in the EV landscape. The first order of business is to strategise how to execute the brand introduction to the market which involves identifying the right consumer segment, understanding their motivation towards buying into the brand and ensuring the soon-to-be-launched brand and its products resonates with the consumer's lifestyle," she told A+M.

As the company that is seen as the main promoter for NEVs in the PROTON family, Salawati added that it is important for PRO-NET to play a role to educate consumers on EV and NEV products, as well as the various parts of the ecosystem, by using its platform to curate information to raise awareness amongst potential buyers.

According to her LinkedIn, Salawati returned to PROTON in 2018 as deputy director, marketing intelligence before taking on the added role of head of corporate communications in February. She also previously worked at PROTON Edar from 2009 to 2015, last helming the role of business planning and operations division. She was also with Perodua for a decade. Salawati, who has 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, will continue to lead marketing intelligence and corporate communications at PROTON in addition to her new role.

Meanwhile, PRO-NET also named Sua Chek Hoong, a newcomer to PROTON with 20 years of experience in the communications and IT industry, as chief information officer. The management team will report to a board of directors headed by PROTON CEO Li Chunrong, supported by PROTON deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah, PROTON CFO Wang Huaibing and PROTON VP human capital and admin Amran Mohd Tomin.

This comes after PROTON signed a general distributorship agreement with electric carmaker smart to sell and service smart vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand. According to PROTON, sales of smart electric vehicles are slated to being in the fourth quarter of next year. A top priority for the company will be the deployment of charging solutions for customers and current plans call for the deployment of a home-based and public charging network.

Li said its studies show consumer hesitancy to adopt new energy vehicles is tied to their concern about charging availability. PRO-NET plans to use a two-pronged approach combining the installation and maintenance of home-based chargers with a comprehensive public network to be built with partners specialising in the development and running of charging stations.

He added that the new energy vehicle industry is growing exponentially, and PRO-NET wants to be a major part of it both in Malaysia and abroad. "As these new offerings will not be weighed down by previous model lines or even traditional service operations, it is an opportunity for PROTON to reframe its customer experience and reposition itself as a mobility provider that can attract new and traditional buyers," he said.

Related articles:
Tesla sued for 'false advertising' on self-driving cars
Tesla looks for marketing specialist in SG
HK Bank Foundation launches pilot scheme to promote adoption of electric vehicles
Grab introduces electric vehicles, looks to 'champion' driver welfare