Proton S50 sedan will launch in 2 months time – CEO

Proton S50 sedan will launch in 2 months time – CEO

Click to enlarge

The upcoming ‘Proton S50’ sedan will be launched in two months time. This is according to Proton CEO Dr Li Chunrong, who revealed the timeline at the handover ceremony of Malaysian cultural crafts to athletes for the Hangzhou Asian Games Museum, held at Proton’s COE base this morning.

Just around the corner then. The S50, codenamed SS11, has been spotted testing all over the country for quite some time now, but our latest sighting of the camouflaged sedan sees a bodykit on the well-proportioned sedan. The S50 is a three-box sedan based on the Geely Emgrand, and it will take on two strong incumbents in the Honda City facelift and fourth-gen Toyota Vios.

The Proton S50 will have a bigger footprint though. The Emgrand measures 4,638 mm long and 1,820 mm wide, and that comfortably eclipses the latest DNGA-based Vios, which is larger than the car it replaces. Those dimensions also means that the S50 is larger than the Preve.

Proton S50 sedan will launch in 2 months time – CEO

Click to enlarge

The Emgrand can be had with a 1.5 litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with 114 PS/147 Nm of torque, paired to a five-speed manual or CVT in China. It’s underpinned by the modular BMA platform used by the Proton X50, so we can also wish for 1.5 litre three-cylinder turbo engines from the SUV.

One thing is for sure though – the SS11 sedan will not have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Instead, the IHU will be an improvement of the current version. This was confirmed by Proton deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah in July.

As is always the case when Proton’s Geely products goes up against Japanese rivals, much will depend on price. The Toyota Vios is priced from RM90k to RM95k, while the broader Honda City range – which has a hybrid range topper – is priced from RM85k to RM110k. The Proton X50’s price range is from RM86k to RM113k. How much do you think the S50 sedan will be?

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • I bet the model is S70. S50 is reserved for Persona Replacemnet Model. The marketing is uou get an Altis size car at slightly less than Vios price.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 5
    • Peppa on Sep 05, 2023 at 5:30 pm

      Basically Proton version of Kia Cerato except probably cheaper.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2
    • Dulu Proton preve 1.6T also besar cheaper than Jazz lol

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
    • But this car is only big on the outside, small on the inside. This car is built with badget in mind to fight with cityvios, not civicaltis. Geely has proper civicaltis competitor called the binrui.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 5
    • No Fukushima nuke waste,please. on Sep 07, 2023 at 3:30 pm

      If P1 price this model around 70k,Honda(P1s half sister)City sales might be affected.If price it around City/Vios pricing…those diehard Jepun fanboys will chose Japanese marques.
      So,perhaps the pricing is around 75-80K,to combat Toyota Vios while giving breathing space to sister Honda City.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • a COMMON man on Sep 05, 2023 at 2:55 pm

    This will be an interesting car. Most probably it will be equipped with the same drivetrain as the X50. On the upside, a baby Volvo S60-like look, decent handling/drive characteristics for the money, larger than the traditional Vios/City in terms of footprint and space. On the downside, so called reliability and reputation issues that have been sometimes associated with the X70/X50 may eat into the sales potential of this car. Another question that needs to be asked, would Osborne effect take place and trigger Malaysians to delay their interest in the S50 since by 2025 sub-100k electric cars will be allowed to be sold in Malaysia as implied by the current MITI minister?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 0
    • DonkeyKong on Sep 05, 2023 at 4:14 pm

      Only kow-testosterone men will wait for rainbow-friendly EVs. Real men favor practicality and will choose ICE cars over climate hoaxes and environmental alarmism

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 50 Thumb down 29
      • a COMMON man on Sep 05, 2023 at 6:51 pm

        And how about high-estrogenic women? What would they do? Think outside of your echo-chamber.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 16
        • DonkeyKong on Sep 06, 2023 at 12:19 pm

          High estrogenic women shouldn’t be driving.. they will have an increased lack of focus and situational awareness and be a hazard to all other road users.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 3
      • A Wanderer on Sep 05, 2023 at 10:43 pm

        Lol climate hoaxes? Didnt know Malaysia also got QAnon kind of dumb people.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 14
        • DonkeyKong on Sep 06, 2023 at 12:18 pm

          Qanon? You must be a CNN zombie.

          Which person with brains can believe or tolerate these..

          1. The world will be at a tipping point in less than a decade and the climate will change forever, spelling an extinction event for mankind (that type of alarmism was around since the 70s and based on environmentalist track record,such predictions are on par with Jehovah’s witnesses doomsday predictions)

          2. If CO2 levels rise above 400ppm there will be mass death of ocean life and the ecosystem will be screwed up. Instead, with increased CO2 we’re seeing thicker calcium carbonate structures on sea life with shells, and plant growth has accelerated. In our geologic record the earth has even gone through periods of over 1000ppm CO2 before.

          3. Not a single UN IPCC temperature increase prediction has come true in over 30 years, and not a single model they used have a correct prediction 10 years down the line. The earth is dynamic and self-adjusting. There are hundreds or thousands of feedbacks and forcings that they keep discovering as time goes by. For example, massive methane release that’s not due to human activity that contributed to significantly more greenhouse effect, making CO2 effects seem negligible.

          4. EVs are significantly more polluting in it’s entire lifecycle from production to end-of-life vs an ICE car. It only paints the illusion of environmentalism but it actually moved the carbon emissions from point of use to point of generation, and in terms of raw materials it’s causing untold environmental damage and harsh labour conditions throughout the African continent.

          What I notice is that EV supporters are generally low-IQ virtue-signaling slacktivists who also happen to support or partake in these various other things:

          – veganism
          – intersectional feminism-LGBTQIA
          – support the Democrats in the US
          – have anti-Lynas leanings although their EVs are a part of that industry

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 51 Thumb down 17
  • @NotBruceWayne on Sep 05, 2023 at 4:12 pm

    Potential to make big bucks if this could come as a PHEV with at least sub 50km EV range..perhaps a range topper at sub RM90K

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 2
  • No hanky panky at heavens on Sep 05, 2023 at 4:49 pm

    Who needs apple carplay or android auto when you have the most advance user friendly huawei mate 60 pro connected wireless via the car media centre

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 49 Thumb down 22
  • frevis on Sep 05, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    C-seg size, B-seg price, 1.5 turbo. Vios City Almera confirm farewell.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 5
    • We just hope it doesn’t turn out to be repeat of Preve

      C-seg size, B-seg price, 1.6 turbo. Vios City Almera didn’t farewell, instead Preve farewell.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 23 Thumb down 4
      • DonkeyKong on Sep 07, 2023 at 6:24 pm

        The trouble with Preve, Suprima and Exora Bold, along with the CFE platform, is primarily because of the Punch CVT gearbox that was selected.

        There’s no redeeming value whatsoever in that gearbox. It didn’t deliver a better drive with better fuel economy vs. the good torque converter autos of its day. It didn’t provide better reliability and servicability either. It was also the weak point that hamstrung the CFE engine, with it needing to be de-tuned to cater for the CVT gearbox’s maximum torque limit.

        Guess what the other options were at that time? Mitsubishi’s 5-speed torque converter automatic F5A51 gearbox, of which the variant offered to be evaluated vs Punch’s CVT was the Hyundai-Kia implementation of the F5A51; and the possibility of adopting the Hyundai-Kia A6F range of 6-speed torque converter auto gearboxes.

        So, instead of these torque converter autos which would have not only made their cars reliable, but could have also easily allowed Proton to unleash the full design potential of the CFE engine to churn out 250-260Nm of torque and 150hp, they selected the Punch CVT that caused this series of vehicles to fail miserable.

        Preve means “to prove”? Yes, it proved that Proton’s management was incompetent and corrupt and led the company to their doom.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • Sohai on Sep 06, 2023 at 12:03 pm

      Is Proton we are talking about.. Just focus on self first lah instead of try to tapao Vios and City.
      Malaysian is known to shop by pricing instead of A/B/C segment when it comes to car. Meaning “For RM80k, what can I get…?”
      If Proton prices the car close to Vios/City, then is suicidal, nevermind what kind of tech you include.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 19
      • Up to you... on Sep 07, 2023 at 12:46 pm

        It’s all depends on booking, they have the ceiling price already. If the ‘sambutan luar biasa’ like X50 & X70, so they will increase the price (thus + profit margin).

        I already explain this many times in previous post, please check it.

        So up to you guys.

        Let me remind you, this car will not come cheap and absolutely not for the B40s.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
      • Normal netizen on Sep 07, 2023 at 3:16 pm

        I used to be a preve owner, now switch to civic RS e hev.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 9
  • Sonny Goh Soon Teck on Sep 05, 2023 at 4:57 pm

    So called Volvo tech car like C70 pls give me a break. Sapu tech is not same as sapu cat.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 13
  • TempeKeras on Sep 05, 2023 at 6:11 pm

    Khas untuk peminat kete topu special delivery.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
  • Now is SUV era, Proton could launch X30 turbo SUV lol
    X70 and X50 hebat sales at earlier phase..

    Honda also launched WR-V, even better than City facelift excitement.
    WR-V now cannibalize own city sedan and hatchback sales.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 10
    • Anonymous on Sep 06, 2023 at 12:51 am

      SUVs sell very well but they’re not killing off sedans. They’re more expensive to run, and those cheap enough to run are expensive to pay for.

      Those that are affordable and with somewhat acceptable running costs (but barely) are small. To me, small SUVs are just for style. They don’t age very well. For a family of 4 they may even be worse than a B-segment sedan. Honda WR-V has a total of 880 litres of boot space. Unless you have children sitting in the rear seats. That shrinks it down to 390. Proton X50 is better with seats down at 1250 litres, but worse with chidren on board at just 330. That makes the Persona and S50 (based on the Emgrand) the more practical choice with 500 litres of boot space. Only C-segment SUVs are proper SUVs but they don’t come cheap.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 3
      • X30 sales can tapau S50 sales

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
        • Anonymous on Sep 07, 2023 at 10:17 am

          If there ever will be an X30. But X50 sales is comparable to the Ativa. Even outsold them by a few thousand units in 2021. Comparable also to the Honda City. Those buying cars in Ativa’s price segment have many other choices outside the A/B-segment SUV.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • SUV era? you replace SUV tyres before?
      Most Malaysians cant afford normal car tyres, and SUV tyres are more expensive

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • Rumors say this Emgrand can replace Honda City and Toyota Vios market share with their competitive price, but I can tell the truth is it will be very challenging since ProtonxGeely having reputational issues with their suv’s.

    The cost of repackaging from Geely emgrand to Proton S50 is very low but once the company’s reputation is damaged, the price that the company needs to pay is very high.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 26
  • Hopefully Proton can do something on the front bumper design, overalls looks good especially the interior design.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
  • Kane WWE on Sep 05, 2023 at 9:36 pm

    I estimate the price would be from 65K-70k for the bse model ,70-75k for the mid spec, and full spec would be 75k-85k

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 5
  • Practical sedan 2023 on Sep 05, 2023 at 10:59 pm

    Hopefully got a 1.5na timing chain and ADAS free version under rm70k.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 4
  • Anonymous_C on Sep 05, 2023 at 11:07 pm

    This felt like year 2000 again when Proton launch 1.5cc Waja. (Thou Waja had it’s own quality issue and in Proton history never ever changed front and rear profile). Waja age well on M’sian roads today and still a good car to be driven if taken care well.

    Gen2/Persona and Preve did not perform as good as Waja.

    Need to observe if this new model can do well with M’sian consumer.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 3
  • Bersedialah untuk harga OTR yg sgt ‘murah’…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
  • kckfen on Sep 06, 2023 at 8:06 am

    Kemon lar why no apple car play and android auto….. at least put lar google map inside

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 20
  • wishes S50 is actually Binrui instead of Emgrand, 100k is no problem. Emgrand can be S30 later.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
  • Tan Chin Sown on Sep 06, 2023 at 1:15 pm

    Wooi… How come previous article talk about S50 against Civic and Altis??? This is right that Geely Emgrand in Philippines is against vios and city. Therefore Proton S50 must be against Vios and City in Malaysia. This one is a Giant killer!!Terbaiklah Proton….This one is for middle income Rakyat Car if price reasonable compare to City and Vios. If i have not book Alza.. I will buy thus car Not a fan of SUV..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 3
  • Charleston Keck Sin Seng on Sep 06, 2023 at 11:20 pm

    Who cares who launching what no need hype it’s not like so affordable like a local car should be. Abolish protection abolish local car projek.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 7
  • Liong on Nov 22, 2023 at 11:21 pm

    The best offer from Proton since the days of the last proper top of the range sedan named Perdana which I bought around rm75k when first launched .In those days it had a belt driven camshaft 2.0 litre engine which failed me after 80kmileage.This S50 with 1.5 state of the art engine and auto transmission should be mote reliable. If priced under Rm80k it should capture the momentum of first time buyers.I am not a first time buyer having also bought Vios 1.5 which is still running.I would sell off the Vios ,get 10k and ,put the 500 deposit for the lowest priced S50.The comparison goes like this..Proton-Geely -Volvo technical expertise under Li Chun rong is comparable to Toyota’s..its the manufacturing expertise that proton is slighty below Toyota..thats why a 2015 Vios is such reliable car.Expect small issues in the first batch that rolls out in a couple of months time.
    Honda city is not even on my watch list..fast cars are not my cup of tea. Hope I get a nice colour one for the Missus.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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