Geely’s Australian lineup tends to be a very good barometer of what we can expect to see from Proton in Malaysia, given that it is one of the largest right-hand-drive markets for the Chinese carmaker. You may remember that last year, we caught wind of the Starray EM-i/Galaxy Starship 7 making its way to the island continent, and that car eventually wound up here as the Proton eMas 7 PHEV. Well, we may have struck gold again. CarExpert has reported that the Galaxy Starshine 6 is off to Australia early next year as the Emgrand EM-i. The plug-in hybrid sedan’s forthcoming RHD conversion immediately raises the possibility of it coming to our shores as a Proton eMas model (eMas 6 PHEV, perhaps?), particularly as it plays in the lower – and most importantly, cheaper – reaches of the four-door market. Let’s not forget, Proton teased a sedan eMas model way back in July 2024 when it launched the new energy vehicle (NEV) sub-brand, ahead of the eMas 7 EV’s arrival later that year. The side profile shown looked suspiciously like the S70‘s, and given that the Emgrand EM-i is based on the new fifth-generation Emgrand – the successor to the car that spawned the S70, remember – it’s starting to make a whole lot of sense. Mind you, the Emgrand EM-i is quite a bit larger than the S70. Measuring 4,806 mm long, 1,886 mm wide and 1,490 mm tall – with a 2,756 mm wheelbase – it’s bigger than even the Honda Civic and encroaches into D-segment territory. However, it still uses torsion beam rear suspension, rather than the independent multilink setup that has become de rigueur for this size of car. The Chinese-market Galaxy Starshine 6 comes with the least powerful version of Geely’s efficiency-biased EM-i powertrain, with its electric traction motor producing 163 PS (120 kW) and 210 Nm of torque. This is paired with a 111 PS/136 Nm BHE15 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine and a 11-in-1 single-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT). This engine, which delivers a record thermal efficiency of 47.26%, will likely be swapped out for the eMas 7 PHEV’s less powerful 99 PS/125 Nm mill for international markets. What probably won’t change is the choice of LFP batteries – an 8.5 kWh pack delivering a pure electric range of 60 km, and a 17 kWh unit that pushes up the EV range to 125 km (range figures are on China’s lenient CLTC cycle). Don’t expect the Denza B8-rivalling Geely Galaxy Battleship 700 to make its way here Down Under, the Emgrand EM-i will be joined in 2027 by a pair of large PHEV SUVs sitting above the Starray EM-i/Proton eMas 7 PHEV, these being a five-seater and a seven-seater. Given the price-sensitive nature of the Malaysian market – especially when it comes to national cars – we’re not expecting the bigger five-seater to come anytime soon, although a seven-seater would usefully broaden the eMas lineup. Also unlikely is the Galaxy Battleship 700, a massive tech-heavy off-roader that aims to unseat the Denza B8 as the most over-engineered Chinese 4×4 – replete with powertrain technology from the ultra-luxe Zeekr 9X. Even with the import and excise duty exemptions afforded to national carmakers, a Proton costing well north of RM200,000 (maybe even over RM300,000) would not go down well with the buying public. GALLERY: Geely Galaxy Starshine 6 at Auto China 2026 Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro. Compare prices between different insurer providers to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services. Many payment method supported and you can pay with instalment using Atome, Grab PayLater or Shopee SPayLater. Use the promo code 'PAULTAN' when you checkout for 10% discount!
