PROTON Is Bringing smart Electric Vehicles Into M'sia In 2023. Here's All You Need To Know
Remember these cute smart cars? Look how canggih they are now!
By Hafiz Zainuddin — 19 Aug 2022, 05:10 PM
PROTON recently landed a deal with German automative company, smart
Long story short, PROTON will be selling and servicing smart electric cars in Malaysia and Thailand starting 2023, woohoo!
The deal was inaugurated through a general distributorship agreement. This partnership makes PROTON the exclusive distributor of smart EVs in Malaysia and Thailand.
According to PROTON, although this venture mainly functions as a retail operation, they hope to break ground into the new electric vehicle market.
The first phase of the collaboration will initiate next year in early Q4
PROTON hopes to adapt their retail operations to fit the company's target market. As such, they will be focusing on pushing out a digitally-integrated lifestyle connected to smart energy vehicles which includes modern elements such as journey planning and charging capabilities.
According to The Star, PROTON's Deputy Chief Executive Officer Roslan Abdullah said that they have made an official request to the government to extend the excise duties and tax incentives for EVs
This is so that Malaysians can enjoy smart EV vehicles at a more cost-efficient price point. Roslan also said that they aim to sell between 800 to 1,000 smart EVs per year in Malaysia.
This partnership is also powered by PROTON's drive to become more environmentally cautious
"The move into this market segment will also help drive PROTON's move towards being more environmentally friendly in all facets of our operations to help Malaysia achieve its carbon neutrality target by 2050," said Dr Li Chunrong, PROTON's Chief Executive Officer, as reported by New Straits Times.
