Deputy CEO Roslan Abdullah said Proton is currently in the process of identifying suitable EV models that are more affordable and practical.

“We may have a model that is affordable but not practical, so we are working together with Geely to speed up the project and this (initiative) is also on the recommendation of the government – especially the investment, trade and industry ministry – to ensure that Proton accelerates the electric vehicle project.

“We will inform the media of the latest information,” he told reporters after the launch of the 2023 Proton Rahmah campaign here today.

The national carmaker had initially targeted to roll out its own EV by 2027 and had launched its own electrification roadmap which would be carried out over three overlapping phases – initial deployment, growth and production.

In August last year, Proton reached an agreement with electric carmaker smart Automobile to sell and service the latter’s “smart” vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand.

Through its recently established subsidiary Proton New Energy Technology (Pro-Net), the national carmaker will handle sales and distributorship for “smart” vehicles in the country as well as offer its own new energy vehicles in the future.

The “smart #1”, a sport utility vehicle segment EV developed by Geely with Mercedes-Benz, is expected to officially hit the local market sometime in the third quarter of this year.

Pro-Net also inked a partnership with Petronas’ clean energy solutions unit Gentari Sdn Bhd in October to build 20 DC charges this year.

Under the agreement, Pro-Net will be responsible for providing the charging location and power facilities while Gentari will provide the charging infrastructure and operatorship solutions.