KUALA LUMPUR: Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton) has launched Malaysia's first electric vehicle (EV) e.MAS 7.
Proton Holdings Bhd chairman Syed Faisal Albar said the most important feature of e.MAS 7 is it's a fully green vehicle with zero carbon emission, contributing to the nation's net zero commitment.
"We already have the feature of voice command where it will obey instructions. We are challenging ourselves and now we will do a Bahasa Malaysia version of the voice command," he said at the launch of e.MAS 7 today.
To equip the company to its EV journey, Syed Faisal said Proton opened a new research and development (R&D) centre in Hangzhou Bay in China back in April.
It has a total of 60 local engineers responsible for the Proton's e.MAS range in the future, including the e.MAS 7.
"The global auto sales has reached 82 million cars last year and one third of them were in China alone.
"We are glad our partner is a global original equipment manufacturer from China. Geely has provided us with the impetus needed to bring us to another level, not just in Malaysia but also in the export markets," he added.
Geely Auto Group chief executive officer Jerry Gan said the partnership between Proton and Geely stands as a model of pragmatic cooperation, mutually conplimentary goals, and shared success between the companies.
He noted that Proton's R&D centre in China marked a deeper integration of both companies R&D's systems, significantly enhancing Proton's research and innovation capabilities.
"The e.MAS 7 is a testament to the depth of collaboration between Proton and Geely. Over 700,000 man hours of R&D were invested, with over 100,000 kilometres of localised vehicle durability testing conducted," he added.