We are only a few days into 2025, but Proton CEO Dr Li Chunrong has already confirmed that the national car company will launch its second all-electric model this year. The announcement was made at the opening ceremony of the Proton eMas Petaling Jaya showroom in Seksyen 13, operated by Regal Motors EV.
That’s big news indeed, coming less than a month after the long-awaited introduction of the Proton eMas 7, Malaysia’s first local-branded EV. While the identity of the second model is still under wraps, it’s heavily rumoured to be the eMas 5, based on the Geely Xingyuan.
If proved correct, the electric hatchback would be a smaller, more affordable EV option for the mass market, and one that will likely rival Perodua’s own upcoming electric model that was recently previewed by the eMO-II concept.
In China, the Geely Xingyuan was launched in October 2024, with a CLTC-rated range of up 410 km (closer to 350 km on the WLTP cycle). We will have to wait and see if the Proton eMas 5 will have similarly small 30.12 and 40.16 kWh battery options here. The larger eMas 7 gets a choice of 49.52 and 60.22 kWh battery packs, with a claimed range of 345 km and 410 km respectively on the WLTP cycle.
Last September, we reported that local Proton dealers were shown the Geely Xingyuan during a group visit in China, fuelling rumours that the smaller EV model is being considered as an eMas model. It’s now looking more and more likely that that is indeed the case.
The question is when and of course, how much? The Proton eMas 7 starts from RM105,800, so it’s natural to expect the far smaller sibling to perhaps fall below the RM100k mark. However, it will have to be locally assembled in Malaysia to carry a five-figure price tag. The eMas 7 is currently fully imported from China.
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