Proton not decided when to launch Proton Emas concept car

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YOKOHAMA: The national car maker, Proton, has not decided when to start marketing the Emas concept car, a well informed Proton source said here yesterday.

He said should any decision be made to produce or launch Emas (an acronym for Eco Mobility Advance Solution), a proper announcement would be made to the public at the right time. “It is Proton’s first concept car that is based on a hybrid propulsion system,” he told Bernama at the Malaysia Automotive Industry Exhibition (MAIE) which was being held concurrently with the Automotive Engineering Exposition (AEE) here. He said the specially designed chassis of Emas features a raised floor that could accommodate the hybrid system’s batteries under the floor and leveraging on maximising space, while maintaining the overall dimensions of a compact car.

The five-door, four-seater concept car had a total length of 3550mm and features a front-mounted endothermic engine for recharging the lithium ion batteries with a fully electric drive-train.

He said some of its other features were solar powered cabin comfort control digital LED lamps, advanced telematics system, interactive information display, battery management system, re-generative braking, electric air conditioning system, reverse and rear camera.

Proton EMAS had been promoted as Proton’s first Global Small Car which meant a compact size car that would be sold in many countries throughout the world and not just in Malaysia or any particular region, he said.

“With a Global Small Car that is based on the Emas, Proton intend to sell a car that meets the world’s standard, a model that can be a platform for many others and a car with parts that can be sourced from many countries across the world,” he said. He, however, said Emas were concept cars and it was not necessarily the case that Proton would produce the exact models as were showcased in motor shows. In fact, some aspects of the design of Proton’s new models could be based on these concept cars but they may also bear other differences. For example, the design of Proton Saga FL was based on the Kasturi but it was not identical to the Kasturi and in that respect, it was correct to say that Proton had in fact launched a model that was based on the design of one of its Pahlawan concept cars.

Meanwhile, at a lecture session for Malaysia representatives participating in the MAIE/AEE at Nissan head office here early this week, Eiji Makino, general manager, global zero emission business unit, Nissan Motors Co Ltd, said Nissan was very interested to sell its 100 per cent electric car ‘Nissan Leaf’ in Malaysia. However, he said, the Malaysian government had to agree on providing certain incentives for introducing the compact 5-door family sedan car with seating capacity for five, into the Malaysian market.

Leaf is the acronym for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family Car. Among others, the government should be ready to give buyers of the car tax incentives or subsidies that would reduce the effective cost of purchasing the car.

As an all-electric car, the Nissan Leaf produces no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas emissions at the point of operations and reduces dependence on petroleum. Makino said until now 2,000 units of the first mass produced electric car, had been sold, with the majority in Japan. — Bernama