Proton recently announced it had signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to sell electric vehicles by smart Automobile (a global joint venture involving Geely Holding and Mercedes-Benz) in Malaysia and Thailand through Proton Edar, which has been appointed as the importer, distributor, and dealer for the smart brand in these markets.
The newly formed partnership is a timely one given the Malaysian government’s decision to exempt EVs from import and excise duties this year, but beyond just generating sales, it could also have a greater impact on the national carmaker in the long run.
Proton has been vocal about its electrification efforts before, as back in November last year, then Proton Edar CEO Roslan Abdullah (now the company’s deputy CEO) said the carmaker had a planned roadmap for introducing hybrid, plug-in hybrid as well as electric vehicles.
Before that, in April 2021, Roslan said Proton would enter the EV market when the time is right, although with some caution. “We could bring the technology, but the question is what would happen to aftersales in the next five years? We are not looking at selling the product alone but throughout the customer experience of owning an EV car as well,” he said during an online interview at the time.
Another concern brought up was affordability. “How many consumers can afford an EV? In Malaysia, a part of the forces in dictating sales is price affordability. If we have to bring down the price level, would it meet certain regulations later on, if any? These are key points we are looking at in determining to bring EVs. We (need to) look for the right product and the right time,” he explained.
With the company now involved in selling and maintaining smart EVs in Malaysia, Proton could use the knowledge gained (including from its Geely partner) to potentially accelerate development of its own EV model (if anything of the sort is happening now) and ensure it is properly supported if and when it goes on sale.
The carmaker has certainly dabbled in EVs before, as it presented a few electric prototypes in the past. In 2010, there was Exora EV with a range extender, the Emas concept and the Saga EV Concept, while a few years later in 2014, we were introduced to the Iriz EV – these models never made it to production.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
hello, fix your proton x70 spare parts issue first la
Before any yahoos starts demanding proton to sell EV cars, which they cannot afford to buy anyways, please consider our nation EV infra is no where near suffice to be practical.
Typo in the article: The EV with the range extender was the Exora, not the Evora.
Banyaklah experience. What experience have they gained? Without a foreign partner, they can’t produce a single decent car after almost 40 years of existence.