Proton e.MAS 7 to take part in National Day parade

Proton’s upcoming electric vehicle, the e.MAS 7, will be making its first public appearance during the National Day parade at Putrajaya this weekend. It will be part of a 25-vehicle contingent of various Proton models that will include the first Malaysian National Car, the Saga.

The e.MAS 7 will represent the latest phase in the progress of the Malaysian automaker which has made a major contribution to the automotive industry as well as the country’s industrialization.

Jalur Gemilang-themed camouflage
The EV, to be launched towards the end of this year, will have a special camouflage representing the colours of the Jalur Gemilang to reflect the National Day celebrations. A closer look at the words on the wrap show forms of greeting various languages – salam (Malaysian); ciao (Italian); sawadikap (Thai); kopivosian (Kadazan); bonjour (French) and of course, Hello – suggesting a friendly image for the model.

“While celebrating our past, Proton is also mindful to look ahead into the future of the automotive industry. Hence, we took the decision to include the Proton e.MAS 7 in our parade line-up – though it has not been launched – to allow everyone to get a closer look at the company’s first EV model,” said Proton CEO, Dr Li Chunrong.

Prototypes undergoing real-world testing
Prototypes of the e.MAS 7 have been seen around the country and these are undergoing various tests in local conditions. The tests will validate durability. charging functions, driveability and also software programming to ensure that the first national EV is fully compatible with local conditions.

“The e.MAS 7 is not only Proton’s first EV, but it is also the first Proton model developed concurrently with the team at Geely. This allows for much shorter lead times in making righthand- drive versions available and also results in greater efficiencies and sharing of development costs,” revealed Dr. Li.

Co-developed with Geely
Dr. Li is referring to the Geely Galaxy E5 which was launched in China earlier this month when he mentions co-development. It’s a sensible approach as developing a brand new model is very expensive and a joint project reduces costs for both parties. Further along, common parts and systems may also provide better economies of scale to reduce production costs as larger volumes can be ordered from suppliers for use in the Geely and Proton models.

Common in auto industry
It is not uncommon for automakers to jointly develop models and there are many examples. The Ford Escape, for example, was developed by teams from Ford and Mazda, with the latter selling an almost identical looking model as the Tribute.

In Europe, Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroen had a joint project known as B-Zero for a city car which was then built in the same jointly-owned factory in the Czech Republic. Toyota called its model the Aygo, while Peugeot’s was the 107 and Citroen badged theirs as a C1.

Perodua’s collaborated with Toyota and Daihatsu
The first Perodua Myvi, launched in 2005, was also the product of joint collaboration with Daihatsu and Toyota. Where in the past, the Malaysian automaker had adapted models already developed by its technical partner, for the Myvi, it was involved in the entire development process right from the start. Malaysian engineers participated in the project, gaining much experience to enable Perodua to develop in-house capabilities in many areas of vehicle development.

While the basic structure and design was common, each company’s designers incorporated styling that would make their model different and in accordance with their philosophy. Toyota called their model the Passo and Daihatsu sold it as the Boon, and later on, Subaru also adapted the same model for its fourth generation of the Justy.

Right partner in Proton
It is therefore fortunate then that DRB-HICOM chose the Geely to be its partner in Proton in 2017. Geely has been among the leading automakers in China and also has other global brands in its group, which provides considerable resources that can be shared.

For example, its tie-up with Volvo provides advanced safety technologies while owning Lotus brings the performance knowledge and experience which Proton benefited from in the 1990s when it owned the British sportscar company.

As part of this huge group, Proton also has access to the resources and in particular, the platforms that Geely has been developing. Platforms require gigantic investments which the bigger players can afford but the smaller ones cannot afford to develop frequently. So the smart thing is to tie up with a bigger automaker, as what Proton has done with the e.MAS 7.

First look at the 2025 Proton e.MAS 7 EV