Two weeks on from its preview, the Proton eMas 7 has been sighted running tests on public roads in Malaysia, with the national carmaker’s upcoming first EV spotted on the Karak Highway by X/Twitter user Gandum_Wing via the handle @Avionalytics.
Separately, the eMas 7 was also sighted by Azlan Mahmud, as shared on the Malaysian Electric Vehicle Owners Club Facebook page. So far, we know that the eMas 7 is closely related to the Geely Galaxy E5 that made its debut in China in May this year, and that the E5 was designed from the outset with left- and right-hand drive markets in mind to be a global model.
Going by the specifications of the Galaxy E5 that the eMas 7 EV is based on, Proton’s upcoming EV is underpinned by the Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture (GEA) with cell-to-body (CTB) construction, where its battery pack – comprised of Aegis ‘short blade’ cells – forms part of its structure, and contributes to its torsional rigidity of 31,000 Nm per degree.
With the E5 as its base, the eMas 7 will be of a front-wheel-drive layout with its front-mounted motor that outputs 218 PS and 320 Nm of torque, and the Geely equivalent is rated for a 0-100 km/h time of 6.9 seconds and a top speed of 180 km/h. In Galaxy E5 form, the EV gets two battery specifications: a 49.52 kWh pack that offers up to 440 km of range, and a larger, 60.22 kWh pack that yields up to 530 km of range.
In terms of physical size, the eMas 7 measures 4,615 mm long, 1,901 mm wide, 1,670 mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,750 mm. This makes its shorter than the Honda CR-V, but wider. Compared with the Proton X70, the eMas 7 is larger, with Proton’s combustion-powered C-segment SUV measuring 4,519 mm long and 1,831 mm wide.
Proton has also said that the eMas 7 is the first of five models to be built on its GMA (Global Modular Architcecture). Though announced in June, the first EV from Proton will only go on sale in Malaysia at the end of this year, in December. When it does, the eMas 7 EV will initially be available from 29 dealers nationwide, and it will share showroom space with existing Proton models.
GALLERY: Proton eMas 7
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Is the spare part waiting list period will be double? Oh my