Proton Teases New 1.5-litre Mild Hybrid 3-cyl Turbo Mill Again

National carmaker Proton is poised to introduce its first-ever hybrid powertrain very soon and, judging from the engine teased in a recent corporate video released on YouTube this week, it’s a mild hybrid (MHEV) system too.

This is the second time Proton has teased said mill after putting it on display at their headquarters not too long ago. The video in which said mill is teased gives us a brief walkthrough of Proton’s efforts at locally assembling (CKD) the Geely-sourced 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo mill at its Tanjung Malim plant, which also subsequently saw over 10,000 units of which produced thus far.

​Crucially, at the 1:10 mark, the video details the mill’s modularity where it’s able to be primed with either a direct injection module, or a 48-Volt MHEV system. Paired with the mill too is a belt starter generator (BSG), making it not too dissimilar from Mercedes-Benz’s own 48-Volt MHEV powertrain that features an Integrated Starter Generator (ISG).

We’ve actually seen this BSG-equipped 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo mill being displayed not too long ago too.

With a BSG primed, the hardware allows for energy recovery when coasting, as well as supplying an extra boost during acceleration, albeit a brief one. Unlike a full-blown series parallel hybrid though, this mild hybrid system does not employ a brake-energy recovery system.

Presently, Geely offers its mild hybrid powertrain in things like the Geely Okavango 7-seat SUV that’s on sale in the neighbouring Philippines market. In said model, the 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo MHEV mill is paired with a 7-speed DCT box that’s tasked with managing its claimed 190 PS and 300 NM outputs.

While mild-hybrids feature an electrified sub-system as how full-blown hybrids do, both the electric motor and high-voltage battery in the former are actually smaller than those found in the latter, and it merely provides ‘assistance’ to the engine.

L-R: Mercedes-Benz M 254 and OM 654 with ISG and a 48-volt battery plus electric motor (highlighted in blue).

Typically, in MHEVs, the motor isn’t powerful enough to accelerate the vehicle from standstill, unlike those found in full-blown hybrids (HEVs), i.e. the Honda City Hatchback e:HEV RS. The obvious trade-off between an MHEV and HEV systems is the former’s lower performance and improvements in fuel efficiency compared to the latter.

Proton has churned out over 10,000 units of the Geely-sourced 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo TGDi mill thus far.

For Proton though, a MHEV powertrain such as the one it just teased holds plenty of benefits over HEV systems. For starters, MHEV powertrains are much simpler than HEV powertrains, which are highly complex in design and nature.  Also, MHEV systems are cheaper to manufacture as a result of its simplicity and smaller battery capacity.

As to when and where we’ll see this mill, all signs point towards one of several new models Proton is planning on launching this year.