After a serious bout of activity and publicity a couple of years ago, news from Detroit Electric, which was aiming to produce electric vehicles based on Proton’s Persona and GEN2 models, has pretty much gone quiet.
The company signed a supply and manufacturing agreement with Proton in March 2009, where it was to buy the Persona and GEN2, replace the CamPro engine with an electric motor drivetrain, and rebadge them as the Detroit Electric e63 and the e46 models. Later, it also inked a deal with Chinese automaker Dongfeng to use its battery-electric drivetrain technology for the latter’s models.
The e63 during the media introduction in September 2008.
Activity-wise, not much has been happening. Or perhaps there is – reader Kenneth Sow spotted an e63 in Subang Jaya yesterday, running a trade plate and with four passengers inside. The car was unmistakable, since it had bits and pieces of green stickers plastered all over it, along with the Detroit Electric logo pasted on the sides.
Sow reports that as the car was pulling off along NPE towards Subang, it was seen to be making small turns, as if testing out handling, and his observation of the car’s acceleration from 0-70kph (stop/go at traffic lights) was that it was excellent, despite carrying four people.
Which brings us to the question – is there something stirring in the mix, or is it merely a false alarm, it being the Proton boys doing an evaluation on the car as part of their EV studies?
This is why Proton after 25 years, still here… good job!
e63? e46? sounded familiar…. i thought it was an M6 or M3..haha
E63 sounds like Mercedes E63
Jimatkan penggunaan elektrik !!! HA HA HA…
The cost for charging full charged must be 10 times lesser than How much petrol cost per full tank.
it has a small engine (400cc) as a generator for battery charging.
Electric cars are they way forward lah dei. Once oil run out, we will need electric cars. Macha I tell you, electric cars are the future.
In Malaysia, how do we generate electricity??? Still much dependant on fossil fuel…..not environmental friendly at all.
have u heard about hydroelectric?
solar?biomass?
Electric powerplant is much more efficient at converting chemical energy into electricity compared to the engine inside the car. Furthermore, it is easier to control emission at one source (powerplant) instead of thousands on the road.
No, you got it wrong buddy. Millions of cars on teh road not only less efficient but harder to control the emissions compared to one powerplant.
I support Hydrogen Car !!
The facility that are needed to convert water to hydrogen are very expensive to comerciallize and low income people would not be able to cope with that expense.
hydrogen production also not environmental friendly Fossil fuel currently is the main source of hydrogen production…
if from water it need high temp..so if need high temp it must use..electricity(from fossil fuel power plant), urine oso gud for hydrogen production but who want to supply so much urine, biohydrogen not so economical yet ……
the gud thing is that hydrogen engine burn similar way as petrol engine n reduce GHG by 60%..some expert say we need at least 40yrs before it can give impact
…or maybe those 4 proton Boys just went out for their lunch in this detroit’s persona at Ayam Kampung near awan besar there. :-)
i wonder if can trap in flash flood with battery fully charge ….. ? emmmmm……
well done …. medium well…….
school boy’s mindset…
i would love to see any sedan car (especially yours if you have any) electric or not, survive a flash flood…
theres been in newspaper that proton electric , reev wont have bad effect if trap in flash flood. furthermore, electric vehicle will turn off the power & save battery if stop even on trafic light.
U rite! like you swicthing up your light at home
Any typical passenger car will not survive a heavy flood. But i think you would like to know the risk of electrocution isnt it?
Yeah i’m thinkin that risk to. Anybody to answer?
The release of thousands kW to open water is not that healthy me think….
just bincang2 ok? selalu battery akan mghasilkan DC current, voltage rendah jer.. so mgkin kereta akan guna DC motor.. kalau nk guna AC motor juga, kena ada converter, tambah berat lg.. motor DC lagi senyap and power dari AC motor..
s0 1hp same dengan 746w kalo campro CPS, 125 hp so 93kw.. belum sampai thousands kW.. just tak tahu berapa hp motor yg akan kereta guna.. sesiapa tahu?? plzz kongsi..
lihat toyota prius generasi ke-3 skrg. enjin 1.8, kuasa lebih kurang 98PS @ 73kW saja tapi dengan bantuan motor, kuasa enjin bertambah 60kW.. sama dengan enjin 2400cc pada camry.
enjin prius juga akan di tutup ketika berhenti (trafik light atau jem) bermakna zero emission dan boleh juga bergerak perlahan dengan penggunaan motor saja.
for others, malaysia depends 70% of its electrical source from fossil fuel burning. the remaining 30% is a mixture of solar and hydro.
as much as i bash Protong, I gota salute to them if this pull off!
now this really can export!!! but…dont charge rakyat so expensive la…
how come Protong selling national product cheaper outside Msia? what is the logic?
anyhow, good progress to Protong.
in Malaysia all cars got high tax lah, haiyoo..
always the same question…..our country’s auto industry policy and tax structure just sucks….
thai oso hav similar policy like us but terbalik…if we import nonASEAN car the import tax is bout 30%, thai is 80% import tax….thai excise tax from 30-50% wherelse malaysia excise tax from 75-105%..either way same tax for importing fron nonASEAN car in CBU form…if u carefully see that thai car that so much cheap than malaysia is only japan car mostly
still, our cars are still more expensive than most. you could justify it before since petrol was cheaper but now even petrol is getting to be unsubsidised and thus expensive like our cars. so how long do we continue to subsidise the crappy “national” car industry with inflated prices when with the money saved from high HP payments we could increase our disposable income and boost our local domestic consumption.
i think subsidized national car not accurate word but gov do give them discount(50%) on excise tax..if gov subsidize national car suppose it is far cheaper than current price rite…instead gov give them tax discount..mean that gov will get less tax from them n no money given by gov to national car…if u think R&D grant…well all sector get it not just national car…i also use R&D grant for my salary during research activities for my lecturer bout RM1800 a month..that u can call that i use tax payer money
hopefully we’ll be an malaysian electric car soon..
Good.. just a step further in the realization the car from prototype into the production line.. can’t wait to own a eco-friendly & pocket-friendly car… :-)
i really like to see proton moving ahead!good luck proton.
Ahah! Air tenang jangan disangka tiada NAGA!
Welcome aboard Proton e-Car!
Should be “Air tenang jangan disangka tiada SINGA”
harimau laa
singa? bkn proton pakai lambang rimau ke?
aiyo singa/lion is for peugeot la proton is tiger /
harimau / rimau
its buaya lah!
good to see…
i hope proton persona sell at this year and proton exora range extender and proton saga. i also hope there are using 100% of electrice
Power window pun tak boleh buat dengan betul, terangan pulak nak but 100% electric car konon.
Bukan Proton yang buat kereta-kereta ni la. Tak faham speaking omputih ye? Baca baik-baik artikel tu.
proton tak buat pun persona guna electric.. yg jadikan persona guna electric ialah “Detroit Electric” hahahaha.. tak kan ada prblm lg kot.. dulu guna window 95 sekarang guna window 7.. sudah tukar la.. hahahaha ada jer nk bangkang.. rosak tukar baru jer.. selalu kena repair suis jer.. jarang motor power window ni rosak.. jangn kena kencing dengan tokei kedai bulat2 sudah .. hahahaha…
bang…u living in the year of 1994 still ke?
This fella still live in STONE AGE ar????
All the new cars from Proton do not have the problem or perhaps way lesser than before.
Even your favourite Perodua Myvi got power window problems la…
Civic also got power window problem but owner dare not bising. :-)
because they afraid proton owner will laugh ..hahaha buy expensive car still got power window problem,….better buy proton larr already know the track record… so much power window problem…so no heart feeling.
dont forget front brake clipper ‘infamous’ myvi problem too
haha that is our local car industry for you!
The Proton badge on the rear-end is still there though, albeit covered up
oh, sure there is something up.. – fuel price..
and then proton come up with new electric car.
That’s why PETROL IS UP AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good planning by GOVT!
then electric tarif naik!! no different at all
I will whoop G ass if the electric tariff going up to!! seriously…
believe it! floods in australian coal mines have caused coal prices to shoot up! gas price also to be hiked soon also. plus if you live in an apartment how are you going to charge your ev?
nproblem nanti charge car dengan generator hahaha
generator need petrol or diesel la…
Cost wise, i don’t think electric cars are of any good; higher price means higher financing cost, electricity doesnt come free (and the price can only go up and will never come down)
Electric cars are just good for the environment…that is all that to it…
bicycles even better for both, so malaysian get off your fat lazy arse and cycle to your mamak instead so you can still guzzle down that watered down steaming cup of diabetes you call teh tarik and stay trim and pretty or handsome.
i really want to reduce my carbon footprint.
buy honda or toyota hybrid lah.
buy honda or toyota hybrid lah
I will seriously consider one if it is delivered. Despite I am not a big fan of Proton, this represents a frog-leap step if it is accomplished. Keep pushing!
drive 2 hours. hv to charged 10 hrs
oh come on what for coming out with this car?if want an electric car just rebadge the Hyundai(well proven) or not the china(who are the best in producing electric vehicle in the world)…
developing own ‘not so sure’ technology is a waste of time….
mr toyuta, how do you feel if you are a smart boy and your dad doesn’t allowed you to further your study..come on lah..proton is learning and developing..give em some space!
Now, let’s get things right for the very last time (Proton). If you really and honestly wants 1Malaysian to be proud of you. You must not cheat on peoples and gives us that damn actually low price x quantities = eventually maximum profit too like Korean’s did from hereon. The Sonata in Korea are selling around RM60K+ and is making good and proud history to their peoples. A big bad hungry wolf moves by Proton means you don’t really deserve the peoples respect and support at all!
but they hav to pay annual car tax of over 1.85million won(~RM5100)
well they are high income country, since when are we richer than the koreans?
well they might be rich but doesn’t mean the tax cheap for them….since they do not as much subsidies like us here
well they have a variety of other transit options while malaysia just have expensive crappy cars and increasingly expensive fuel. and they seem to be doing alright without subsidies.
hopefully electrical powered engine will still be around for long.based on the pace of technology development in this century, we should have such technology much much longer ago instead of now. hopefully blood sucking giant oil companies out there wont buy and bury this technology to protect themselves, which was what they normally did in the past, and which has caused us still being stuck in hybrid engine!
first look at the article title i thought it is a merc or bmw… luckily the all electric car is not licensed by inspira. good try, wonder what the price is!! if compare to the jap car price traditionally, the price should be around rm60k~70km, since honda insight is selling at rm98k
Insight is a hybrid …. if I understand the article correctly, this is a 100% electric car …. no more petrol engine
got petrol engine..but only as generator to charge the batteries.
If an owner stays at an area where its electricity supply is covered by old diesel generator, this will be an “indirect diesel powered car”.
If an owner stays at an area where its electricity supply is covered by hydro electric generator, this will only be a “100% total green electric car”.
hope its quality well delivered…
my neighbour just received Black Exora(today 5th day) had been going back to SC 3x already…. Her husband was so “excited” about it bcos his Sylphy went back only after 1000Km and then follow routine services…. His previous, a Wira has become his 2nd car now… so excited…
electric or not is same… no different… electric also need to use petrol to generate…
“The company signed a supply and manufacturing agreement with Proton in March 2009, where it was to buy the Persona and GEN2, replace the CamPro engine with an electric motor drivetrain, and rebadge them as the Detroit Electric e63 and the e46 models.”
does this mean that detroit will buy Persona and Gen2, then remove the CamPro engine and replace with its electric motor?? or proton will supply persona and Gen2 without their engines???
Doesn’t really matter either way. I would think that they would somehow augment the chassis to utilize as much space or as little space as necessary but whatever. :)
I think most probably without the engines…no point buying them since you are not going to use it.
i think they will supply gen2 and persona without engine. doesn’t make sense buying something that you will throw straight away
will proton selling in sound reasonable price to us ?
i think no lah..bcoz petrol engine cars they sell quite high… this new tech..i think also high..
This is the way to go… keep on getting into new technology. They should also explore the hydrogen engine, maybe the tech is still new here for now but as we go along, new breakthru’ can be achieved. Afterall, hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe…. someday, we will get the engine that can run on hydrogen, with end result just H20 as the by-product. Well, P1… keep on with the exploration and someday u will get the breakthru’
“Which brings us to the question – is there something stirring in the mix, or is it merely a false alarm, it being the Proton boys doing an evaluation on the car as part of their EV studies?”
Believe me, most of the time, just a false alarm (plus a bit ‘kelentong” and “putar belit” marketing).
I LOVE PROTON
two thumbs up!! hopefully proton can bring up those green car quickly coz nowadays fuel price hike without any notice. everybody is looking for alternatif
Everybody want cheaper2 thing. How come cheap align with paramount quality?
Takut harga mahal? Dont worry la… Now hybrid car is free tax. This EV car looks like will be free tax too…
Takut electric tariff boost up? We are now majoring use of diesel powerplant rather hydro or wind. Remember world fuel price also goes up. When gomen comes idea of Nuclear Powerplant, every body cant accept. So how come TNB can lowered tariff? Thank god electric in Malaysia is gomen controlled, not free market. Free market is goddemmed expensive.
Hope Toyota will sell EV in Malaysia soon…
wrong we r majoring gas power plant followed by coal power plant n hydro power plant…we have 5 diesel power plant 3 of them located in sabah, 1 in penang n 1 in malacca that give only 578MW
what about IPP?
we are subsidized the useless powerplant.
good job gov!!
no wrong actually ~62.6% malaysian power plant is gas, ~20.9% coal power plant, ~9.5% hydro plant..the remaining 7% hybrid power plant, biomass power plant, diesel power plant,we have only 5 diesel power plant 3 in sabah, 1 in penang n malacca for bout ~580MW only
This is rebaging of persona n gen2 without engine……engine will be supply by detroit elektric
maybe they go have their lunch
2021.. nuclear reactor up! means cheap electricity!!! goodbye coal fired reactor.. GO GREEN POWER!!
Eventhough nuclear power is cheap & reliable, Malaysian do not have a very good maintenance culture. Even our Parliment building is not properly maintained. Our policy maker is very concerned on this and afraid of another Chernobyl incident.
The West is very afraid to acknowledge the potential of palm oil since it will catapult the economy of Msia, Indon and other PO producer in the tropical country (non Western).
proton r&d, please consider hydrogen fuel cell as well.
just asking…it that true that our country still use oil to generate electricity? as i have hear that the tariff need to be revise because of the price oil issue ( sorry if i’m wrong). if it yes, then it not so green technology and pocket wise to us la…as in here everything is up accept the rain.
anyway…proton did good move & improvement. hope that way forward maybe hydrogen engine or magnetic engine. go proton go DSZ
62.6% gas(21 station – 12622MW)
20.9% coal(6 station – 8425MW)
9.5% hydro(21 station-3 dams , 1 under cons, 1 proposed + several IPP – 2591MW not include bakun 2400MW)
7% from other forms of fuel(5 diesel station – 578MW, 9 biomass station – 80.9MW, 1 hybrid station – 650MW)
Our country generate electricity using various resources including oil. Other resources include hydro, gas and coal. We’re now embarking on nuclear technology maybe within 10 years.
Green or renewable energy is still on small scale here.
i don’t think the G will let the electric car be cheap. Where else the G will get their income if not from the Petronas..if Petronas / petrol not selling well..so be the G
CONGRATULATIONS paultan.org ! You ranked 15th !
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/6/nation/7745276&sec=nation
I think Proton have to be carefull with the WEIGHT of the car.
As an electric car, it has to be as light as possible. If typical chasis with combustion engine used for the electric vehicle, the risk of underpower and high electricity consumption is there.
I believe you can do this..
You can see the car in sunway now, RCS is doing the Ride & Handling, they can be seen testing the car everyday ;-)
Syukur…proton did learn something good & done something precious for the future… i like the phrase ” kalau tak leh buat semua, jangan tinggal semua” same for ” better late than never ” … All hardwork and progress should be praise and be acknowledge…
Cheers bro!
Detroit Electric was an American company. Now their electric cars, the chassis is from Malaysia and the battery is from Korea and the cars to be sold in China, US and Europe.
I don’t think DE got what it takes to kickstart their electric cars. There’s big investment and high chance of failures.
Here is how General Electric will be doing:
General Electric has said it will make a record order of electric cars, to try to kick-start the market.
Its first order is for 12,000 Chevrolet Volts, which will start to roll off GM’s production lines this month.
GE will use them as company cars and lease them to corporate customers.
It intends to buy the 25,000 cars by 2015. It will use some of them in its own fleet.
The rest will go into its Capital Fleet Services business, which leases cars to corporate customers.
Starting to switch from the site enjoyment from car news to comments now… It is such a wonder that the comments can really go off topic whenever it touches on proton…
cars dont just exist in a single bubble bah. if 2moro bolivia or chile shuts down lithium production, EV and hybrid everywhere also kantoi. like right now, australia coal mines flooded, price of fuel for steelmakers will go up so cars prices may also go up. so look at the bigger picture :)
Like or not EV is the future as Petrol will be finishing before priced like gold.With development n all,would expect it to run as good as combustion engine just like the combustion motor evolution.