PROTON Plans To Release Their Own Electric Vehicles By 2027 And We're Here For It
PROTON's EV roadmap started as early as 10 years ago.
PROTON is a homegrown name in the automotive industry, and they're planning to take it one step further with their own electric vehicles (EVs)
Although no fixed timeline has been set, PROTON's deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah said that they are in the midst of strengthening their EV capabilities and plan to launch the product by the year 2027, which is five years from now, as reported by The Sun.
Roslan also said they've been actively pursuing potential partners that can help them sell and market these products.
Although, the EV market isn't all that unfamiliar to PROTON, as they've dabbled in it a few times in the past
According to autoblog, in 2011 PROTON displayed a hybrid concept vehicle dubbed PROTON Emas at the Geneva Motor Show.
The propulsion system for that prototype model was designed by Lotus, a British automotive company, and employed a Volt-like series hybrid setup that utilised a range-extending 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine.
Additionally, they also gave people a glimpse of the Iriz EV prototype at the 2015 International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia (IGEM).
In fact, PROTON's EV roadmap started 10 years ago, but it hasn't been actively pursued due to market demand and technologies
"The next five years will determine which technology is most acceptable, easy to maintain, and affordable to consumers and us," said Roslan.
According to The Edge Markets, Roslan also said that challenges faced by the EV market need to be addressed by stronger government support, better industry readiness, and a shift in customer preference towards EVs.