Why would a Proton eMas 7, launched in Malaysia for nearly a year now, need to be camouflaged? Only one possible reason – this has got to be the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version. Those alloys certainly don’t look like the Prime’s nor the Premium’s; they look more like the multi-spokers on the Geely EX5/Starray/Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i, which is, yes, the PHEV. We thank reader Naiim for these spyshots. The eMas 7 PHEV name was trademarked as early as September 2024. If this happens, it will be Proton eMas’ first PHEV. What can we expect? Well, Australia gets a 99 PS/125 Nm 1.5 litre BHE15PFI (recognise this?) engine, a 218 PS/320 Nm electric motor, an 18.4-kWh LFP battery, an eight-second 0-100 km/h time and a 170 km/h top speed. Other figures include WLTP ranges of 84 km on electricity only or 943 km combined, a 2.4 litre per 100 km claimed fuel consumption, a 14.7 kWh per 100 km claimed electricity consumption, max 6 kW AC and 30 kW DC charging, 6 kW vehicle-to-load (V2L) as well as a 428-litre boot that becomes 2,065 litres when you fold the back seats down. There are two variants Down Under. Standard are 225/55R18 tyres, a 10.2-inch digital instrument panel, a 15.4-inch centre touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, six speakers, auto climate control and powered front seats. The higher variant gets 235/50R19 tyres and adds a panoramic sunroof, a 13.4-inch head-up display, wireless charging, 16 1,000-watt Flyme speakers, a power tailgate, front parking sensors, 256-colour ambient lighting, ventilated front seats and driver seat memory. Safety? Both variants in Australia get AEB, ACC, ICC, rear cross traffic alert and brake, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, door opening warning, lane changing assist, blind spot detection, emergency lane keeping assist, occupant detection alert and driver fatigue alert. As per the Starship 7 – the original car – there are end-to-end front and rear light bars, split headlamps and regular pull-type door handles, but left- and right-hand drive interiors are not the same – the RHD one is basically the eMas 7’s, which should make things easier for Tanjong Malim when it starts churning this out. Launch bila? Next year’s a good guess, don’t you think? Australian-market Geely Starray EM-i (RHD) Geely Starray EM-i makes ASEAN debut at GIIAS (RHD) Geely Galaxy Starship 7 EM-i at Auto Shanghai 2025 (LHD, different interior) 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 Grab PayLater or Shopee SPayLater.
