Proton is not only set to gain experience about electric vehicles (EVs) from a retail viewpoint through its collaboration with smart Automobile, because the partnership will also allow the national automaker to learn how to assemble them, deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah said in a Bernama report.
“The collaboration with smart Automobile and the distribution of smart cars will teach us (Proton) how to assemble EVs locally and give us experience and knowledge on the assembly process,” he said during a panel discussion at the Invest Malaysia Series 2: The Road to EV event held earlier today.
Having inked an agreement in August to distribute and sell smart EVs in Malaysia and Thailand, the company is set to introduce the smart #1 in the country sometime in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023). It – and future smart offerings – will be marketed through Proton’s fully-owned subsidiary, Proton New Energy Technology (Pro-Net).
While the #1 will arrive on the scene as a fully-imported CBU, the mention by Roslan about gaining knowledge of EV assembly offers a suggestion that CKD may be a possibility down the line, although it could be a good while before that happens.
Proton has said it is aiming to sell between 800 and 1,000 units of vehicles from the smart brand annually in Malaysia, and so the path will be very much CBU initially. However, its ambition of ramping up total smart numbers to the 10,000-unit cumulative mark by 2027 hints that local assembly could come into play eventually.
As for plans for Proton to develop and sell its own EVs, which it hopes to begin doing by 2027, Roslan said Malaysia needed to produce its own EVs, given the growth trajectory the segment was expected to record in the coming years, the New Straits Times reports.
“It is a must for Proton and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to produce their own EVs because as you can see globally, EV is something that will stay,” he added.
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Keyword here is from a retail standpoint. Tutup la kedai.
Deputy CEO is like a Deputy Sheriff in US?
Proton needs 2022-2027, more than 5 years to learn assemble EV car? Only for assembly the “EV”, not for design, not for R&D. Yeh tutup la kedai.
Q4’2023 … ? History will tell us will be expected 2025 … sohai betoi…
Thank you Smart for willing to teach our Game Over Proton how to create EVs. But I doubt that Proton workers can comprehend what Smart workers are trying to teach. So it is better to let Proton rebadge your Smart #1 instead.
Proton is smart to bring Smart into our EV market as a kickstart into the EV game.
Insert Coin..Game Over.
I thought our Proton is capable? fnaboys always told me they can make EV…..no need to collaborate with Mat Salleh
Wahahahahahahahhhahahahhahhahahahaha!!
Awal pagi dah ketawa pecah perutku….
now only admit, assemble EV also dont know. How to design and build an EV from scratch?
The pokemon face Looks like a Dugong mixed with Ikan Keli.
exactly
Please don’t waste public funds to support a USELESS COMPANY that has not been making money at all. If we look at KIA, Hyundai which started about the time Proton did, tak malu ke??? So much protection given that the company IS SUPER LEMBAP and USELESS
Are you just coming out from cave? What public fund you are talking? Now govt give fund to Proton & the compaby already sold to Geely, thanks to Najib. People just know how to condemn things without any facts.
Volvo already siap pasang their XC40 Recharge here already. Proton please catch up. Perodua might just spring a surprise news soon.
perodua? no. they are slow. like malaysian people
Wondering whether this is just another craze for now and seriously I can’t see how this smart going to impart technology to proton only via the agreement. After all these years we are still depending on foreign expertise to move forward so what has changed to make this initiative different