The Proton e.MAS 7 is coming to town. Here’s why it might be worth the wait.
Last Friday, Proton revealed their first electric vehicle, the e.MAS 7. The e.MAS 7 will be distributed by PRO-NET and is based on the Geely Galaxy E5, which is a car so new it was only officially launched in China a day AFTER the e.MAS 7 preview in Malaysia. So, if you’ve already been thinking about buying a new electric vehicle, is there any reason to consider this new Proton e.MAS 7? Well, over the weekend we thought of 7 reasons to do just that.
Wider Sales Network
Those living in the Klang Valley probably aren’t aware that other Malaysian states just don’t have the same level of penetration when it comes to EV brands. In KL it’s not uncommon to encounter a dozen electric vehicles on one’s daily commute, but elsewhere you may not even have a dealership with an EV in stock. That changes with the Proton e.MAS 7. PRO-NET are using their vast network to tap into more dealerships than even BYD has in Malaysia for their EVs. At last count, BYD had 21 service centres running, Proton estimates 29 outlets will carry e.MAS vehicles including 2 in Kota Kinabalu and 1 each in Kuching, Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu, and Melaka. So for many Malaysians, the e.MAS 7 might be the first mass market EV they can actually buy at a local dealership.
Pricing Advantage
It’s no secret that the Geely era of Proton has involved Chinese made vehicles being sold with local national car prices. Often this has been done as a stop-gap solution while local assembly operations get set up. With the e.MAS 7, Proton essentially don’t even have to locally assemble to get advantageous pricing. The Chinese equivalent Galaxy E5 in its maximum specification has a price tag equivalent of RM90,506.25, meaning Proton could drop it here FULLY IMPORTED for RM100,000.01 and still be in line with the Malaysian government’s policy of no imported vehicles below the RM100K mark. While we’re still waiting for pricing details, this fact alone should give potential EV owners a reason to pause and think about owning an electric Proton
Patriotic Duty
Now this may be a bit of a stretch to most buyers and in fact it’s probably not even a factor for the vast majority but it can’t be denied that the sale of e.MAS 7 vehicles will most likely contribute to the salaries of many Malaysian engineers, designers, programmers and more skilled and unskilled workers. At the e.MAS 7 preview, it was shared that 230 Proton engineers and designers were involved in the vehicle’s co-development from the outset. While BYD is starting to allow Chinese-owned dealer networks to sell their vehicles in Malaysia, Proton’s dealer network is still Malaysian owned. So if you want to do right by your country, maybe you’ll look at this as a reason to buy an e.MAS 7 over a Chinese rival.
Tested By Malaysians For Malaysians
Honestly, patriotism isn’t enough for me to buy a local car. What might be an actually compelling reason to buy an e.MAS 7 is the fact that those 230 Proton engineers and designers put 700,000 man hours into making sure the car would work reliability. The e.MAS 7 has been put through 10 million kilometers of vehicle testing plus 30,000km of durability adaptive testing and 100,000km of reliability testing. All this by Proton, a company with a lot of experience building cars for our climate and traffic situation. This could be the e.MAS 7’s greatest strength in the Malaysian market, given the fact that almost every other imported EV is brought in here without much consideration for our conditions.
Range And Charging Tech Is Good
Now let’s get into some more objective reasons why the e.MAS 7 could be the EV to wait for. Yes, we don’t know too many specifics as Proton didn’t fully share much. However, given that it’s most likely going to mirror the Galaxy E5’s hardware, we can be fairly confident that it will impress. The Galaxy E5 is boasting 530km on China’s CLTC programme, but more accurately it’ll be closer to 420km on the WLTP cycle. While that doesn’t sound impressive, it’s actually marginally better than Malaysia’s favourite EV, the Atto 3. What’s more the battery being used is also using a high tech Aegis Short Blade cell which is extremely energy dense, durable and long lasting. As long as it’s capable of 11kW AC, you should have a very competitive EV in terms of range and charging.
Geely Going All Out With Galaxy E5
If you look at how the Galaxy E5 is specified, you can clearly see that the BYD Atto 3 is the target. And since Geely could go in with a clean slate while the Atto 3 still has some years before a full model change, the E5 has the leg up on it. Every aspect that Geely could deliver more than their rival, they did. The battery and range is better. The motor is more efficient and more powerful, there’s more free space in the cabin (including 33 storage spaces). Chinese car manufacturers are at their most competitive domestically and if you’re looking to get in on the best possible deal, the e.MAS 7 could be it in this generation.
The Wait Isn’t That Long
Order books are NOT open, but Proton has indicated that the launch of the e.MAS 7 will not be pushed back to 2025. It’s already August, so that leaves just under 4 months for Proton to get moving on the launch. If you’re in the market for an EV right now 4 months can feel like a lifetime and who know what the situation will be like then? However if you can afford to hold off on your purchase just at least until the specs and price are revealed, you can make a more informed EV decision.
