Malaysian carmaker Proton has been called upon to expand its global presence, prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in his speech at the launch of the Proton EV plant in Tanjung Malim today. Anwar emphasised the importance of levaraging Malaysia’s international relationship to market Proton cars globally, in particular at the upcoming 47th Aesan Summit where the prime minister wants the national carmaker to showcase its electric vehicle models. “Apart from our Asean compatriots like China, South Korea, India, and Japan, more countries will attend. Presidents from Brazil and South Africa will also [be present]. We want to bring the heads of states and delegates from the participating countries to see for themselves the capabilities, performance, and technology of Proton, so that we can penetrate their market,” the prime minister said. Anwar expressed gratitude to China for sharing technology with Malaysia especially in the automotive industry. “Their readiness to allow the transfer of technology at various levels gave opportunities to our youth to create our own products,” he said. The Malaysian prime minister also hoped that EV models from Proton can be priced lower for the needs of the middle-income group, and said that he was informed that prices can be reduced to a competitive level, and meet the needs of car buyers with lower income. Newly launched today, the Proton electric vehicle plant in Tanjung Malim was constructed at a cost of RM82 million and has a first-phase capacity of 20,000 vehicles a year. This can be increased to 45,000 units annually, depending on demand from local and overseas markets. Output from this plant begins with the eMas 7, which first arrived on the market as a CBU import from China, and this will be joined by the smaller eMas 5 later on.
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