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About e.MAS

For decades, an electric car in Malaysia meant an expensive import or a Tesla driven by the well-heeled. e.MAS is Proton's attempt to change that. Launched as a separate electric sub-brand with its own identity, it borrows heavily from Proton's partner and part-owner Geely, and its first model, the e.MAS 7 crossover, arrived priced to undercut much of the imported competition. The name, a play on the Malay word for gold, signaled that the company saw electrification as something more than a side project.

The e.MAS 7 is a mid-size electric SUV derived from a Geely Galaxy model, with a modern cabin, a large central screen and the kind of equipment list Malaysian buyers have come to expect. It was followed by the smaller e.MAS 5, a compact hatchback-crossover that brought the price of entry down further and quickly climbed the national sales charts. A plug-in hybrid version of the e.MAS 7 extends the appeal to drivers not ready to rely on public charging, which remains patchy outside the main cities.

e.MAS has competed directly with BYD's Atto 3 and Dolphin, a growing roster of Chinese EVs and, at the cheaper end, Perodua's own electric QV-E. Its strength is the reach of Proton's dealer and service network and the comfort of a familiar national brand, while critics note that the cars are essentially rebadged Chinese designs. Proton has reported tens of thousands of e.MAS sales, and the models have also gone on sale in Singapore and Nepal.

Expect coverage of new models and variants, sales rankings, pricing and rebates, charging infrastructure, local assembly and export plans, along with reviews that test whether these Geely-derived EVs can wear the national badge with conviction. The bigger question is how fast Malaysian buyers move away from petrol, and e.MAS is the clearest barometer of that shift. Watch too for how Proton balances its electric sub-brand against its own petrol best sellers, and how aggressively Geely uses Malaysia as a base for right-hand-drive exports across the region.