Why Didn’t Proton Show Off A Low Cost EV At KLIMS 2024?

If Perodua can show us a concept, why didn’t Proton have a cheap alternative either? 

Before anyone starts, I do not want to hear anyone say “but Government don’t allow EVs to come from outside under RM100k.” Yes, this may be true, however, why is Proton, a local brand, not taking advantage of its local status to do this? Also, the e.MAS 7 is definitely a Proton electric vehicle (EV) but it is still way too expensive to be considered a good option.

By Proton’s own admission, the markup on the Proton e.MAS 7 is significantly higher than most other EVs in our market right now. There is no reason this should be the case, especially since Proton has a Chinese partner, Geely to help it with not only R&D but also with technology transfer. Perhaps Proton is not really an equal partner with Geely then?

Moreover, Proton should have already had an apple to apple comparison to rival the Perodua EV concept that was shown at Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS 2024). Why didn’t the brand just work with Geely to produce something similar to Perodua?  After all, there was talk about technology transfer and working together to produce a local EV.

To make matters worse, Proton has been bailed out so many times in the past as it has been taking out bank loans for “EV R&D” for years now, but all the brand has to show for it is simply a slightly changed version of the Geely Galaxy E5, which yes is technically a local EV, but it still shouldn’t cost nearly as much as it does.

On top of that, despite Perodua having its Japanese partner Toyota to help out, the brand still decided to take the beloved Myvi hatchback and change it up to accommodate an EV powertrain instead of rely on its partner for help. At least in this way, both brands would be doing more or less the same thing but Perodua manages to keep the cost down.

So what gives? Proton used to be the pride of the nation, our first national car brand. Our very own former Prime Minister pushed to see the brand become a reality and growing up, I have personally loved the brand and their cars so much, but as of late, it has not given me anything to be proud of.

At the end of the day, the Proton e.MAS 7 is definitely not just a simple rebadge, but that does not change the fact that it is a terrible disappointment. Personally, I would have preferred it if the brand simply took a Persona shell and tried to develop an EV powertrain for it and sell the thing for below RM80k but I guess some dreams were always destined to be crushed.