After years of discussions and months of talk, Proton has finally revealed the name of its upcoming electric vehicle, and it is to be called the e:MAS.
It is a nice play on words with a hint of nostalgia considering that the Proton Emas was a concept car that was introduced to the world back in 2010. Back then, Emas stood for Eco Mobility Advance Solution and the concept car was co-developed by Lotus and Italian design firm, Italdesign Giugiaro.
Fast forward 14 years, and today e:MAS stands for Electrifying Malaysia and the company is very different than what it was all those years ago.
Though only the name has been introduced, Proton is not too far away from introducing the first electric vehicle to bear its name. During the name presentation ceremony, Proton also introduced its first 17 EV dealers as well as the new façade for Proton EV showrooms.
Proton also announced it is targeting to have 30 EV dealerships by 2025 with plans in place to grow the network according to need.
Proton is more than ready for its step into the world of electrification, in fact that journey began back in December of 2022 when Proton sent 16 of its engineers to China for On the Job Training (OJT) in EV’s and related areas such as charging and servicing.
So, when will the actual car be introduced? There is word that Proton will introduce its EV in December of this year and that claim holds some water as Proton does have a tendency of launching cars towards the end of the year. Just as what we saw in November of 2023 when the company introduced the S70 and the smart #1 just a week apart from each other (thought the smart was launched by Pro-Net and not by Proton itself, though the same teams were involved, somewhat).
As for the car itself, the rumblings in the motoring journalism fraternity suggest that the upcoming Proton EV will be based on Geely’s Galaxy E5.
The Galaxy E5 (we know what you’re thinking but no, it is not built by Samsung) shares its architecture with the likes of the Polestar 4, Zeekr 001 and the Volvo EM90.
Not much is known about the E5 as yet besides that it will be offer Geely’s 11-in-1 intelligent electric drive. As for the battery, it will come with the Shendun battery safety system.
Geely says the 11-in-1 intelligent electric drive is the “lightest, smallest, and most efficient intelligent electric drive in the industry”.
Managing the task of hold charge is a lithium-iron phosphate battery (LFP) but as for the battery safety system itself, a press release issued by Geely says the Shendun battery system focuses on four major areas – basic safety, vehicle safety, intelligent safety and healthy safety.
The Galaxy E5 will be powered by a single-motor that is rated at 218PS with a top speed of 175km/h and the mid-size SUV is roughly about the size of a Honda CR-V.
Not much else is known about the E5, but from the photos we can obviously tell that the interior will follow the minimalistic concept that is typical of EV’s.
The interior features a double flat-bottomed steering wheel that is almost hexagonal in shape, a full LCD panel and a large central control screen. As for entertainment, reports coming out of China indicate a 16-speaker audio system together with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. But whether or not this will trickle down to the Proton e:MAS is unknown.
Considering that the Galaxy E5 is said to be developed primarily for right hand drive markets, it would not too far-fetched too assume that the upcoming Proton e:MAS will be based on the E5.
As for pricing, it is anyone’s guess at the moment but some media outlets are speculating a price range of between RM99k to RM150k, and that would put it squarely in the crosshairs of BYD’s product range.
