Proton fast-tracks EV plant expansion with new RM37 million investment

Proton is set to expand its New Energy Vehicle (NEV) assembly plant in Tanjung Malim much earlier than anticipated. While it did not reveal exactly when the expansion will be completed, Proton said the move is expected to cost the company RM37 million.

This does not come as a surprise, given that the automaker already sold almost 12,000 Proton e.MAS models in the first 4 months of this year alone. Around 73% of the sales were Proton e.MAS 5, which is among the most affordable brand-new EVs in our market at the moment.

Officially launched less than a year ago, Proton’s NEV plant was built through an initial investment of RM82 million. The plant was originally built to deliver 20,000 vehicles per year, although it has always been designed with flexibility in mind, and the expansion will double its annual capacity to 42,000 units.

At present, 391 employees are working at the facility, which currently assembles Proton e.MAS 7. The national automaker today has also confirmed that the local assembly of e.MAS 5 at the plant will begin soon.

The Proton e.MAS 7 PHEV should be in the pipeline as well, as Proton intends to locally assemble all products built on Global Modular Architecture (GMA) at the site. Proton has also previously confirmed that the NEV plant will cater to other brands within the Geely Group, including Zeekr.