Having launched three new cars this year (the facelifted X50, the eMas 5 and the Saga), you might think that Proton would put its feet up and take a well-deserved break. But you’d be wrong – the national carmaker is holding a Proton Tech Showcase at its Centre of Excellence (COE) showroom in Shah Alam this weekend, and the company’s social media posts tease a brand new SUV making an appearance. As you can see, the general shape is very similar to the eMas 7, but while the vast majority of the car has been blacked out, the illuminated taillights with their C-shaped corners immediately mark it out as something different. That’s right – you’re looking at none other than the PHEV version, which has already been spotted undergoing testing on our roads. Essentially a twin of the Geely Galaxy Starship 7 (known as the Starray EM-i in Australia and Indonesia and the EX5 EM-i in Mexico), Proton’s first plug-in hybrid will feature a detuned version of the 1.5 litre BHE15PFI naturally-aspirated four-cylinder that has already made its debut in the new Saga. This juices an Aegis short blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery (which can, of course, be recharged through the mains) that, in turn, powers an electric motor at the front. The latter is housed in a 12-in-1 single-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT), mostly letting the motor drive the wheels on its own. However, it also has the ability to engage a clutch and feed in the four-pot’s power at higher speeds where the petrol engine is more efficient, similar to Honda’s e:HEV hybrid system. Geely Starray EM-i The specifics will depend on which version of the powertrain we’re getting. In China, the Starship 7 has been newly revised with a more efficient engine – achieving a record thermal efficiency of 47.26%, albeit still making 111 PS and 136 Nm of torque – that enables the car to hit a fuel consumption figure as low as 3.15 litres per 100 km (down from 3.75 litres per 100 km previously) even with a low battery charge. Also added is a more powerful 238 PS/262 Nm electric motor, and while there’s still a 19.09 kWh battery delivers a CLTC electric-only range of up to 135 km, buyers now get the option of a 29.8 kWh unit that boosts this figure to 200 km. Total range is thus rated at 1,575 km. It’s a different story for global markets, which instead gets a further detuned 99 PS/125 Nm engine and a slightly less powerful 218 PS/262 Nm motor. That’s still enough to get it from zero to 100 km/h in eight seconds flat, but with a slightly smaller 18.4 kWh battery, EV range has shrunk to 83 km and overall range to 943 km, although these figures are on the far stricter WLTP cycle. The Proton eMas 7 PHEV has already been spied testing in Malaysia More impressive is the fuel consumption figure of just 2.4 litres per 100 km with a full battery charge. It’s likely that this is the version that us Malaysians will get, given that it has already been homologated for export markets and converted to right-hand drive. But we can still hope, no? The eMas 7 PHEV will be largely similar to the electric eMas 7 on the outside, save for split headlights with a full-width light bar, conventional door pulls instead of flush pop-out ones, different bumper and tailgate designs and the aforementioned taillights. Left-hand-drive Geelys also got a redesigned interior, but RHD versions retain the EV’s cabin to simplify the conversion, and we expect the same for the Proton. If you want to check out the eMas 7 for yourself, you may do so as the Proton Tech Showcase is open to the public. Again, it’s happening at the COE showroom this weekend, December 5 to 7, from 9am to 5pm on Friday and from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. GALLERY: Proton eMas 7 spyshots GALLERY: RHD Geely Starray EM-i at GIIAS 2025 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.
