Proton today handed eight electric vehicles to the government for running trials with various ministries, as the national automaker works its way towards mass-production of these in 2013. The vehicles are three Saga EV and five Exora REEV (Range Extender Electric Vehicle) models.
The vehicles were presented by Proton chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya. Present at the handover ceremony was former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who is Proton’s adviser.
The initiative is also part of the Fleet Test Vehicle Programme, which is a joint effort by Proton, the Ministry of International trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), which aims to assess the potential of green technology as well as the infrastructure of hybrid and electric vehicles in Malaysia.
The five Exora REEVs are set to be used by the Prime Minister’s office, MITI, KeTTHA, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and well as the Ministry of Finance (MOF), while the three Saga EVs will see service with MITI, KeTTHA and the MOT.
Proton will provide charging stations for the EVs at the Prime Minister’s Office and also on the premises of the other four ministries involved in the programme, as well as home chargers for the households of the designated drivers of the vehicles.
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This is why until today i stil love Proton!!! Proton really think for rakyat; is real rakyat car campany for all Malaysian!
real rakyat car should meet the world class standard and not overpriced..
…I only see is future overcharging of services and hidden money movement.
IF the gov is into eco, they should have started promoting more diesel and reducing fossil fuel usage…..but then why should they?…they never reduce any fuel prices lately, eventhough the prices of crude oil dropped.
do you realise that petrol price will only be reviewed once in 6 month? this is to ensure that increase or decrease of price wont be too sudden.
pls talk with the fact..
The petrol price been revised & increase 4 times within 4 months (Jan – May 2011), and the total increment is 60 sen (10+10+20+20)
so u mean the increment done every month, decrement done every 6 months ?
i talk about RON95, you talk about RON97. your fact is right, RON97 is reviewed every month. and my fact is also correct, RON95 would only be reviewed in every 6 months. peace!
You talk like those cronies..Which ministry u from? Wake up and look at the calendar. Don’t insult our intelligence.
owh, when it’s time to increase.. you want it delayed. but when decreasing, you want it right now and then. be fair la kawan. the last increament was early this year, during mid-year gov already reviewed the price and decided to keep the current price even though the crude oil cost more than jan-feb price. instead, all foreign vehicles are barred from filling up their tanks with RON95. next review will only be at the end of the year. we’ll see if gov didn’t keep their promise, then we bash together.
and fyi, i’m not a crony. i work in sg and bring the money back to malaysia, and buy local products :)
just refresh back, from Jan-May 2011, the petrol price been increased 4 times, which is 10 sen, 10sen, 20sen and 20sen..
but now the petrol price drop, the policy become review the petrol price every 6 months???
whether he dont know how to count 1,2,3 or he think that rakyat dont know how to count…
i don’t care about RON97.. what i talk about is RON95 price. the price review is every 6 months for RON95
so, for you diesel is not fossil fuel ar?
if majority turns to diesel… then ppl will face shortage of diesel pulak… later you ask gasoline to come back…
Hello !… diesel is way more efficient from petrol and hybrid… go check out the diesel cares in europe lar
and since when you faced shortage of petrol ?
reducing the fuel price = promoting eco? FAIL
The seed of a diseased tree cannot bear fruit that sustains
Just because they give few cars and you already rejoice as if they give you one too..and that too is a trial. Proton owe every single Malaysian a car for ripping off our money all for the sake of this so called rakyat car. Even after all those ripping, they still need crutches..
Does anyone force you to buy a Proton? No, right? If you yourself buys one, it is because of your own decision, not others. Those trial cars are given as a pilot test before electric cars of other makes can be brought in, because there are a lot of factors that may influence the success of electric vehicles, especially infrastructure in forms of charging stations.
In a paper today they said market price for the battery alone,was US $1000 per kW. For saga with 16 KW = US $16000 = RM 48000!!! . Does it includes the price of car body?? This so called “world best battrey technology” at the moment produced by Gaia Germany only has a lifespan of 10 years!!?? How come?? Prius warranty is 3 years or 100,000km which covers battery too (battery worth RM 12000)
My daily drive to my workplace is around 30 km/ day. With Saga EV it has a city driving of 70-80 km/day. Which means with single charge i can manage to get 2 days of driving to my office. My current Saga manages RM 30 /week, RM 120/month, RM 1440/year, RM 14400- 43000/year if there is fluctuation in fuel price.
So now just do calculation and compare:
1. Saga EV (with 10 years battery lifespan) = will cost us a total of RM48000
2. Current Saga 1.3 = will cost us RM 14400 (current fuel price) to 43000 (e.g RM 6/ litre)
And one more thing, how much it will cost of electrical bil for a full charging of Saga EV ??? and how much it will cost for a year of charging?? I leave it to you to judge..
Tahniah Proton!
Ministry of Permata got 1 or not?
Too low class for that Ministry. :-)
can use to transport hazardous material….if it explode its not a huge cost for gov to bear.
i heard production will start 2013?
According to the news, yes.
a good move by proton to test EV & REEV. Those car will travel heavily and will be drive very rough by those G driver. Hope can point out any weakness before the mass production begin.
should include picture of the charging stations as well
they showed it yesterday on the news lah
it will nih testing jerk untuk KTHH tuh sabar nanti mungkin petronas,parking lot akan sediakan charging station
Tahniah PROTON !
Dr.M nampak kecik je compare to najib.. tp kecik bukan sebarang kecik..lalala
kecil kecil cili padi… sebijik pun lebih pedas dari 10 biji cili merah :)
Gambar Tun Mahathir seperti disisihkan..
kah kah kah…
yeah congratulation to Proton!!! now let wait for more protection policies and taxes…..
Dr M will be elected to be President for life to WEVA(World Electric Vehicle Association) and impose Tax on all EV sold in every country and their price Must be higher than Proton. After 25 years later then Proton will do a make over their shitty EV car and announce that Proton will be making shitty cars that runs hydrogen. I’ve heard that story before!!!! :-)
Do u have any better idea? I just hope than u can become the next “prime minister” and made a change to our automotive industries. Action speak louder than a word!!
i pity you… no wonder you never succeeded.
hi Mr Shitty brain…
alfie, jgn buat fitnah. nnti masok neraka xkluar2.
anyone knows any details of these range-extender? can it be fitted to existing cps engine?
its 1.3 liter engine.. and if it is fitted to your cps.. the enjin bay will not fit lah.. and further more the drive terrain need to changed to electric motor lagi…
Range extender or serial hybrid is basically a type of hybrid car which relies more on electric motors. When the battery juice is almost running out, the engine will kick in as a backup generator to add more electricity to the motors.
from prev articles, the engine is totally different. 400cc rotary engine/ generator to charge exora battery. for saga EV, there’s no engine, only battery and motor.
Ha. Proton Electron soon?
sounds match..proton-electron..a perfect pair :-)
That sounded like form 4 chemistry subject.
Proton Elektro perhaps? :P
politics aside….i hope this works well. all the best for Proton!!
Hope the can assess the maintenance cost as well
from prev articles, the engine is totally different. 400cc rotary engine/ generator to charge exora battery. for saga EV, there’s no engine, only battery and motor.
Because Proton is testing various technologies before being implemented in their production cars. A few years ago, they were testing the Gen-2 EVE hybrid which is essientially a parallel hybrid similar to Honda IMA. Then they tested pure electric cars, including those prototypes by Detroit Electric and UTM. After that came the Exora range extender.
exora price for 100k? I think they are absolutely crazy, the next move is to increase the car tax again
Because high-powered electric cars use brushless DC motors with neodymium magnets which are very powerful yet expensive magnets. That’s why electric cars and hybrid cars are expensive. That is also a reason why electrical appliances with inverter technology are more expensive than conventional ones.
Finally 1 full circle,back to rebadging car. Now the new saga begins…….We will soon go into making shitty electric cars. ;-)
If the real purpose is real life testing, then use them as taxi fleet.
The major problem here is the infrastructure. Even if we build a lot of charging stations, then more electricity power plants must be built to cope with the surging electricity demand, and at that time you’ll need to be prepared for sudden electricity tariff hike.
taxi travel too far in a day and charging facility is not available anywhere. if it stranded in the middle of the road, people would say Saga EV is not good while actually it’s just running out of battery power.. similar to any other car that run out of petrol.
good one!
kat sini pon nk blame gov gak ke.komen mcm diri tu pakar ekonomi je.this website only discuss about vehicles not some stupid politics.
Unfortunately this vehicle linked very STRONGLY to politic. Given protection, cronies and all at the expense of the rakyat. If this is not about politic, I really don’t know what is good to discuss about this car. Shall we discuss DSG? SkyActive engine perhaps?
This is a BS EV car. Installing some DIY EV kit into a existing gas car does not make for a commercially viable model.
Proton is waste of public funds.
DIY?.. i think your brain is a DIY product. that’s why you can’t think properly and commenting stupidly.
High end DIY lah. I don’t think proton develop their own electric motor. They work with Detroit Electric (buy and install their DIY EV kit). Read this wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Electric
“The Detroit Electric and Proton agreement also initiated the test and validation program in which Proton will evaluate Detroit Electric’s electric drive system with the intent to license the rights to distribute, market and sell vehicles under the Proton brand in Asia.”
To quote yourself – i think MoFaz brain is a DIY product. that’s why Mofaz can’t think properly and commenting stupidly. (without researching)
Oh Wooww, Wikipedia… Verrrrrrry “reliable” source.. Hmmm..
stupid idiot.. DIY is DO-IT-YOURSELF. the term DIY is only suitable for something which common people could install or fix by themselves. can you install all the components by yourself? no further testing needed and straight away drive it for hundreds of km?
and if by your definition that installing engine and parts are simply DIY, then all cars in the world are also DIY products.
and your knowledge is years behind. Saga EV is not by Detroit Electric. Detroit Electric have a deal to produce electric cars based on the Proton GEN2 and the Proton Persona for certain overseas markets under the Detroit Electric brand. But on the contrary, Saga EV is an in-house project done with the help of unnamed suppliers and partners.
read here:
http://paultan.org/2009/07/16/proton-previews-the-proton-saga-ev-concept/
latukbandar, go get other ‘updated’ brain for yourself. maybe you’re more suitable as ketuakampung only.
wikipedia pn org blh edit…
Is the DE-Proton project still on? I have my doubts because DE’s website have not been updated since 2009. 8O
DE – Proton Persona Elegance spotted earlier this year. most probably it’s still in progress! :)
http://paultan.org/2011/01/05/detroit-electric-e63-spotted-in-subang-is-something-up/
LOL. Ur dumber than everyone else here. This project doesn’t involve detroit electric at all. Their tech partner is Frazer Nash Research, dumbass
chin kalau ko tak suke ev sudah diy ev ko berani pakai tak meh aku pasangkan untuk ko ke ko nak mati kene elektrik kalau komen tu fikir sikit value kereta memang akan turun lol.
Norway is major oil producer. they sell fuel very expensive there so that their people uses public transport more… I bet we do here in Malaysia, a lot of people go crazy…
To all bashers,
did u guys know Exora’s REEV won the best EEV engine in an international competition? Why is it when it somes to Proton everybody will bash like hell….I believe if T @ H @ even Korean manufacturer launch their EV cars here, people will say that is the best EV engine ever…really need to know whay are you guys so damn skeptical when Proton doing something…this is why our local brand not only Proton but other locally made product can;t achieve what other brand achieved…coz of majority of Malaysia still think imported items are much better…
come on…maybe u have a bad experience with Proton before but will it be that bad forever? if u bought a rotten nasi lemak once, will u ban any nasi lemak forever? or maybe u bought a pizza with not so good quality, will u ban all pizza in this world? Please change ur mindset so that our product can really compete with other car manufacturer….
juz my 2 cents……
Pizza Hut never make their pizzas right…
“Please change ur mindset so that our product can really compete with other car manufacturer….”
Ok, I love Proton. Proton is God. I shall never buy any other car than Proton.
agree with lone ranger…
to all basher… plzzz… we need to know why?
People bash Proton for a reason. They have fail us far to many times. Behind the scene billions of our money gone to drain and what they achieved today? Yeah best selling car in Malaysia because it’s most affordable by making imported models unreachable for most Malaysian. Making life difficult for other manufacturers who intend to bring in billions of investment, instead they gone to Thailand and Indonesia. If I bought a rotten Nasi lemak once, I WILL NOT Ban Nasi lemak forever but I will BUY IT from another stall and that’s exactly what happen to Proton.
I agree to you bro…. Most times, my mood to read paul’s news turned sour whenever come upon these un-educated and un-profound bashing for no reason. Comments are put there for a reason…. to comment on the article deligently and professionally. Seldom a time, able to get constructive and knowledgeable comments there… I still remember the good ol time when Proton about to launch the exora, and on how “Mr Sifu (from Proton R&D, I presumed) provided the insights of the technoogy involved. I really learned alot about Exora even before I have seen the car itself. That is what we motor-heads want in any automotive related media… Peace to us all..
True, Open your mind malaysians, 24 hrs bashing only. Katak pun dah tak mau duduk bawah tempurung. This REEV exora won award in UK. You think Toyota and Honda always good ? Look at the vios enjin zaman purba, salesman perodua pun sama temberang, ini enjin toyota , lagi best, lagi power, lagi mahal, lagi menipu. Go and see at halfcut. Teknologi enjin tahun berapa ?
Dear Lone ranger,
I also feel proud la (sikit-sikit) with Proton’s EV. But I just don’t care…let the consumer choose which car maker is the best….now with this EV from Proton, we only can expect more protection policies and taxes for other imported cars…this is bloody unfair….with all this crap policies it will only force consumer to buy some shitty cars from proton….just give the consumers choice to made without cut off ours neck.
buang masa je k0men pjg2..the bashers will cont. to bash PROTON until they extinct…
I am also believe proton is good car. But when it comes to local production ; their quality really sucks due to greedy vendors which Dato’/Datuk behind them, sucking our money handsomely with sacrifice those qualities. Are you still blind? remember UK spec? Poor guy.
Take another example maker like japan.
When it is 2nd Japan Spec…. it sold out like hot cake!
2nd Malaysian Spec? Haiya banyak masalah…. jual murah2 saja lah…..
It is not all Proton fault. Government included.
Still Proton fault. Caring for customer or dato’/datuk? Whom buying Proton Products?
CEO proton, thinks something.
biasalah, those bashers are having mid life crisis. xpuas hati dgn kete yg diorg ade skrg. tp marahkan org lain sbb xmampu beli kete yg dorg nak.
hahah
Reputation need few decades to build but take a second to ruin..
Potong provide such poor product in last decade and only improved a bit recently, then u expect every1 to praise potong immediately???
It may take time and let the time to tell the story!!!
Besides, good product always get support from consumer and regardless it made in M’sia or not..
There are many M’sia product / service where reach world class level, such as
Maxis, Astro, Dutch Lady, Padini, Bonia, Mamee-Double Decker, and may many more..
There can success since they are not protected by the “some1” and there are improve and learn when compete in the open market!!!
at least it is better than perodua which thinks 1.5 myvi extreme is fast…only R&D on bodykits and interior…where is their EV?
Once rotten, it’s always rotten. I had very bad experience driving Proton Iswara. I am driving world class Honda now. No more Proton for me forever!!
That’s why Jimmy Choo established himself in UK rather than Malaysia… because if he produce shoes here, people won’t appreciate but he get bashing every day. To Proton, don’t care what the stupid bashers say, just continue your fight. I believe even if Proton managed to produce the best car in the world, some Malaysians would still be sceptical about Proton. It’s no surprise, many Malaysians are bodoh-sombong.
easy to comment la sir Mofaz…u are heavy weigh Proton supporter. Wonder what you do for a living? I bet u is one of the owner of Proton’s vendor..
Jimmy Choo established himself in UK since UK provide equality of opportunity..
In here, only certain ppl will get “priority” but not equality to all..
“Since UK provide equality of opportunity”… have u ever been staying for long in the UK…come on ..dont say it if you havent experienced it
Really? Best EEV in an International competition? I guess it is time to dismantle NAP coz finally proton can compete with others with their ‘Best’ car, why worry when u have the best car?
The sales volume in Europe will speak for itself… time will tell.
Lesson learn from this article:
1) Proton can make good range extender vehicle – win international competition (not exhibition)
2) Proton have a workable EV cars
3) There are portable charger (which I presume will be included in the car price when its sold)
4) Govt. will be Proton testers instead of ppl who buy the 1st gen of the car
5) Tax for green cars will be introduced in 2013
Unfortunately I plan to change my car in 2013, may be I fasten the change car (unless Paul come with super cool car by Proton)
Haters going to hate no matter what is presented to them. Given Proton track record with previous boss, it will not be easy for skeptical public to change their views and opinions. It’s a good effort by Proton, but the pricing for these early models will not be within reach of those who need it most. It is only after significant market size had been achieved that the price levels will drop. Most likely the REEV Exora can be sold for around RM 90,000 (or more) and the Saga EV with limited driving range perhaps around RM 50,000 (or more). Certain components are still quite expensive; lithium batteries, permanent magnet motor utiling rare earth magnets, rotary engine, etc.
TNB electric tariff will hike like rocket……
(TNB-Tamak ‘n’ Bohong)
You should blame the IPP instead, because they are the real lintah darat in the so-called “electricity generating” industry. TNB itslef can produce electricity at cheaper price of about 14 cents per kWh, but the IPPs force TNB to buy electricity from them at 18.1 cents per kWh. That’s the real reason why in 1997, Tan Sri Ani Arope resigned as TNB chairman because he refused to sign that heavily-biased agreement which only favours the IPPs.
I suppose the bigger problem is how to supply sufficient electrical power. Some Malaysians do not want nuclear plants, while some hate dams. How much electricity can we generate using solar power, and at what cost? Do we want to burn more coal and petroleum? Okay, natural gas is an option, but do we want to lose money by not selling it at a higher price? Actually, paying 25.8 cents per kWh is nothing. Most of us can afford it without much trouble (my average monthly electricity bill is only 30-50 MYR). The problem is how to get sufficient electricity to achieve mobility.
Malaysia pepople always bangga with outside product. Since the late P.Ramlee also, you can see people bash him see the history channel documentary about him. Bile dah takde barula terhegeh2 nak sanjung dia..when he still live nobody cares about him. Its too late. Change your mindset, give some brilliant idea to make proton better, not bash them.Proton make a termendous move to explore the new technology. Good job proton.
typical malaysian attitude.. anywhere I go.. when your bos is a foreigner they will obey the boss like GOD, but if the boss are local… the attitude towards them are different.. just think about it if the foreigner is good why on earth he/she is here working in Malaysia.
Answer is Malaysian have all the telent to create and produce our own things, brand and they foregner want to be part of it.
Malaysian will always be malaysian that even org putih cannot changed it. lets time decide if this project triumph or fail. 2016 we will have market liberalization and on that day you may buy what ever you can buy. I just want to say jangan sampai malaysia tergadai.. renung2kan
watched the news on TV3…they also showcase Exora Turbo with Airscoop and top mount intercooler…
nasib macam Modenas CTric…..x laku!!!
I think proton should start somewhere in EV and this is a good start because if you dont do anything it’ll be too… all the best.
Joke for eletric car owner, you are not welcome to my house with that charger….stay away, nak charge phone takpe lagi but kalau nak charge kereta …adoiii….even some mamak stall charge rm 1 for phone charging….hahhaha
joke aside…good effort from proton…basher will still bash you up, but without proton, thousands will lose jobs. They screw up in the past, but now they seem in the right track to clean the mess, It wont be overnight a proton will be as good as toyota or honda or even the korean made, but they have set their goals and dont be surprised, 5 years down the road they be better than the Jap and Korean. But all goes for nothing without our support aite… For once , let us be supportive to the group working for proton now, for i am sure, they also want Proton to be better. No one in the right mind within the proton group work to destroy the pride of the nation. After all are we not better than most country who dont even have their own car to be proud off ?
5 years down the road they will be better than Jap and Korean???? I m not being negative but please be realistic. The gap between Proton and the Jap are way to big and even the Koreans need more than 50 years just to catch up with the Japs. This is not a challenge of who fried better kuay teow…
Then can you tell me why the current Hyundai Sonata’s design is a lot more beautiful than Toyota Camry and Honda Accord? A few years ago the Japs are the leader of the electronics, but now it is proven that the Koreans can make better electronics. Even Samsung Galaxy runs on a dual-core processor which is still not present in any other handphones. That’s why Apple is so itching to sue Samsung, because their IPhone and IPad are nothing more than just for the sake of being stylish rather than being practical and reliable.
last time said 2012 could get into production..
now need to wait until 2013.. huhuh..
extended time to wait for the range extender exora..huhuh.. T_T
Since our climate is always prone to flooding,I would like to suggest Proton should test the EV car for a flooding test before making a mass production.We don’t want to be this car a ‘white elephant’ project.Please test it properly,do a heavy rain simulator,flooding simulator before present it to the rakyat but, anyway cheers for Proton for creating a alternative choice for us.
This is just my 2 cent view
Totally agree.
This is a kind of response we want from stupid proton basher…This is an excellent insight for Proton team. Good job modibegin
Give proton a hand guys. A good move forward for Proton. Lets just hope everything goes well and we will have EV soon… affordable ones that is.
Where to go to charge the batteries and what kind of batteries do the Proton cars use? VERY important questions.
wait until Proton finalise their production version. now still testing.
Hope Gov do not reimposed tax for ecofriendly car like insight and prius because these two models and please bring camry hybrid and sonata hybrid next year. Suda jemu pakai Proton, kat rumah dah ada 3 Proton, rasanya dah cukup supportive and patriotic dah. Selamat hari Malaysia!
Anthony,
NST put up this important info in their news coverage:
“Nadzmi said 250 electric-powered cars would be handed to the government in phases for fleet-testing by the year-end or early next year.”
.
All the best proton….make sure the vendors/part supplier are up to standard….give them the boot if they can’t achieve it….good vendor = good product….lousy vendor = lousy product….after sales staff also should have the right attitude….
But what’s bugging me n most probably others us the price differences between domestic market n export market….ours are much more expensive…what gives????
y te hell proton is so interested wit techonolgy tat they barely understand. yes they did won award but even toyota and honda nvr came up with tis type of techonolgy.instead of them wasting time doing tis they should use te money to make a better car,improve service,making better engine,NVH or probably make better quality plastics 4 te interior.Gain people’s trust and then come wit something like tis.
Hopefully P1 outsource their EV components to foreigner forever. Once it is localize and the Datok2 cronies vendor dip their hand into EV production. It is everybody guess what will happen?
Rein in NAP big brother to bully the consumers further by increase in imported tax for import cars, let the price sky rocket and allow P1 to sell at cronies vendor’s fix the price = higher cost + crap profit + commission but = bad quality.
horribly overpriced. a prius, cr-z and insight costs much less than this overseas
You can’t compare current parallel hybrids with plug-in series hybrid or a full EV.. Prius, CR-Z and Insight using much smaller battery pack and have no useful EV range.
A good comparison would be Chevrolet Volt, which has about the same energy capacity (or less). And Chevrolet Volt will cost around USD 40,000 (before tax rebate) or about RM 123,000. Even after tax rebate of USD 7,500 it will still cost around RM 100,000.
i am just compelled to provide my thoughts on this crap but……some other day lah…….this EV and REEV is making me laugh to bits…..considering its history…..
Proton’s EVs are to help TNB to cover their lost. If the electricity rate hikes, ppl blame TNB. so gov introduces EVs. Ppl will use more electrics than b4, TNB can breath again.
Unleaded 95 petrol in UK is 1.47 euro = ~RM6.30.
EV help them to save more $$.
Saya rela naik basikal daripada proton saga yang kualiti macam besi buruk di kilang besi buruk :/