Roslan Abdullah has been announced as the new Chief Operating Officer of GWM Malaysia. A finance guy, he has been in the automotive industry for more than 30 years, working in various roles on the vendor side as well as having management positions in various subsidiaries of DRB-HICOM.
Prior to joining Proton, he was President & COO at Honda Malaysia for 7 years. He had a hands-on role in which he was involved in leading the brand to being the top non-national passenger car brand in Malaysia. He was also very much involved in the Takata airbag recall, working hard to ensure that thousands of Honda owners replaced the defective airbag module.
He returned to DRB-HICOM to serve as General Manager as the COVID-19 pandemic began in June 2019. Subsequently, he became CEO of Proton Edar, the automaker’s marketing arm, and then also took on the role of Deputy CEO of Proton Holdings Berhad in January 2022 (which is why you saw him sometimes being quoted as CEO of Proton Edar and sometimes as Deputy CEO of Proton).
During Encik Roslan Abdullah’s time at Proton, he oversaw the beginning of its transition to New Energy Vehicles which started with the establishment of PRO-NET (Proton New Energy Technology) as a subsidiary focussed on New Energy Vehicles. While taking on the smart EV distributorship for Malaysia and Thailand, PRO-NET was also began developing the Proton e.MAS EV brand. Led by Encik Roslan Abdullah, the team essentially started its EV business from scratch with the e.MAS 7 being its first product.
He now brings his expertise and experience to help develop GWM Malaysia’s business further, driven by brand innovation, meeting customer expectations, and aligning business expansion with national priorities.
“GWM has all the right building blocks to shape the future of mobility in Malaysia,” said Encik Roslan Abdullah. “My vision is to position GWM as a trusted long-term mobility partner through a strong and reliable dealer and service network, a product portfolio that meets the needs of all Malaysians, and a firm commitment to delivering seamless ownership experiences. We are aligned with the government’s aspiration under the National Automotive Policy and will continue to support Malaysia’s shift towards sustainable and intelligent transportation”.
Welcoming the new COO, GWM Malaysia’s Managing Director, Cui Anqi, said: “We are honoured to welcome Roslan Abdullah to the GWM family. His leadership experience and strategic insights will be instrumental in in strengthening our operations, reinforcing customer confidence and establishing GWM as a long-term player in Malaysia’s automotive landscape.”
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