Proton: MHEVs & PHEVs Coming First, Full EVs After

National carmaker Proton outlined its electrification plans in full during a recent CNY press gathering held this week.

In a special presentation held during said event, deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah detailed that Proton is in the midst of developing both mild hybrids (MHEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) presently. This will eventually lead up to the carmaker producing fully electric vehicles (EVs) of its own by 2027.

These details follow up from Proton’s initial 2021 announcement of its intent to electrify its line-up. Though no specific timelines were revealed, Roslan noted that implementation would be carried out over three overlapping phases starting with initial deployment, followed by growth and finally, production.

“Our pioneering phase stretches over two timelines where we will penetrate the market, develop our capabilities and strengthen market awareness. This will overlap into the EV growth phase, which also stretches over two time periods. This is where we envision to start local EV production, further development of the ecosystem and accelerate the adoption of EVs in Malaysia,” said Roslan after presenting these plans at the CNY press event mentioned.

On the products front, the exec confirmed that things will charge up with a MHEV and a full EV, the latter being the smart #1. The former will likely be the upcoming Geely Haoyue-based X90 7-seat SUV. The model is set to harness an MHEV powertrain offering roughly 190 PS and 300 NM supplied by a 1.5 litre 3-cyl turbo mill – a unit we’ve detailed prior in this post of ours.

Moving forward, the product range will then expand with more EVs and PHEVs. There’s even plans for Proton to synergise its EV industrialisation strategy with other Geely group brands. “You may get to see some interesting EV offerings in Malaysia in the very near future,” added Roslan further, albeit cryptically.

In the same presentation, Roslan also hinted that either a new engine or transmission will make its way into the existing Persona, Iriz, and Exora models, thus providing these models with a much-needed boost too.