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  Business executive Danial Rahman felt a mix of nostalgia and pride when he stepped into his new Proton e.MAS 7. The first car he remembers riding in was a Proton Wira, modeled on the 1992 Mitsubishi Lancer, when he was 5 years old.Now 38, Danial was one of the first customers to take delivery of the e.MAS 7, the debut electric vehicle from a local brand, when it was launched in December 2024."Pride," he said about how he felt buying this nationally made EV, which he also found as better value for money than similar cars from U.S. maker Tesla or China's BYD.Danial's story is welcome news for Malaysia, which recently hailed a significant EV industrial milestone. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim inaugurated Proton's dedicated EV assembly plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak, on Sept. 4. The 82 million ringgit ($19.5 million) facility is Malaysia's first purpose-built EV factory, starting with an annual capacity of 20,000 units and scalable to 45,000."The launch of this state-of-the-art EV plant marks a historic milestone for Proton and Malaysia's automotive industry," said Proton CEO Li Chunrong. "The e.MAS 7 is just the beginning of our journey towards a sustainable future."Proton Chairman Syed Faisal Albar, who is also group managing director of Proton's majority shareholder DRB-HICOM, confirmed that Proton's second EV, the e.MAS 5, will also be assembled at the plant, describing it as "an affordable EV" for the nation. Sources from the industry told Nikkei Asia that the electric compact SUV might be launched as early as October."Proton must be ready to showcase its EV at the ASEAN summit in October," Prime Minister Anwar said. "That is a promise."Proton's progress comes as Malaysia's EV market expands rapidly under tax exemptions. Vehicle registration data shows the Proton e.MAS 7 leads with more than 5,400 units (we should use an exact figure, like we use for all other carmakers), followed by BYD's Sealion (2,472) and Atto 3 (2,363). Tesla's Model Y ranks fourth with 2,045 units, while China's GAC Aion M6 follows with 1,176 units.Competition is heating up in Malaysia, Southeast Asia's second-largest auto market after Indonesia. More than 15 Chinese automakers are now in Malaysia, including Chery, GAC, Great Wall Motor, Leapmotor and Zeekr. Several are already moving to establish local manufacturing and assembly, aiming to capture a share of the fast-growing EV market. BYD and Chery have both indicated plans to deepen their footprint, while Malaysia's second national automaker, Perodua, is expected to launch its own EV by the end of the year.Proton and Perodua are categorized as national automakers, even as China's Geely holds a 49.9% stake in Proton and Toyota subsidiary Daihatsu was a founding partner of Perodua.Malaysia's EV sales are still low in Southeast Asia. Even with a government target of 34,300 units by 2025, it is only one-sixth of Vietnam's 200,000 units, where VinFast, a domestic EV manufacturer listed on the Nasdaq, has an overwhelming market share.However, it is fair to say that the outlook is positive compared with most other ASEAN member states. Auto sales have been relatively strong due to government subsidies for local brands and robust economic growth. In the second quarter of this year, vehicle sales surpassed those in Indonesia for the first time.The Malaysian government has set targets for EV adoption of 20% of all new cars sold by 2030, 50% by 2040 and 80% by 2050, as outlined in the National Energy Transition Roadmap.At Proton's showroom in Putrajaya, sales adviser Amar Hisham said that the shift toward EVs is visible but uneven."Most customers look at the price first, then comes design," he said, adding that the most popular bookings at present are for the X50 and the e.MAS 7, while the Saga remains one of the best-selling entry-level Proton models.He said that some Malaysian customers have a lingering distrust of imported Chinese EVs, but are beginning to accept Chinese automakers. Customers are worried about after-sales service and spare parts for foreign makers, but with Proton, "securing spare parts is easier" because of local assembly, he said.For Malaysia, Proton's EV pushes ties into larger ambitions. The government has positioned the Automotive High-Tech Valley in Tanjung Malim, about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur, as a flagship project under the 13th Malaysia Plan setting the country's socioeconomic direction. The project aims to attract 32 billion ringgit in investments over the next 10 years.The launch of Proton's plant in the AHTV adds a domestic dimension to a market still dominated by imports. Prime Minister Anwar, however, stressed that the project was about more than manufacturing, pushing the AHTV to be not only a production hub, but also a center of excellence for training and education.
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