KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysian automaker Proton launched its first electric vehicle assembly plant on Thursday, as the Southeast Asian nation looks to boost development of its EV industry.
The facility, located in western Perak state’s Automotive High-Tech Valley – Malaysia’s main automaking hub – will have initial annual capacity to produce 20,000 cars. But that could be scaled up to 45,000 units per annum, Proton said in a statement.
The first model to roll off the assembly line will be the e.MAS 7, Proton’s first EV, followed by its entry-level option, the e.MAS 5, the company said.
Proton is majority owned by Malaysian conglomerate DRB HICOM, with the remaining 49.9% stake held by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Speaking at the plant’s launch, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the new facility reflected the close collaboration between Malaysia and China, and he called upon Geely to ramp up its investments in the auto hub.
“We want … Geely to use this opportunity to establish not only a factory to produce cars but also a center of excellence for training and education,” he said.
The Malaysian government is seeking to position itself as a regional hub for electric vehicles and is aiming to make EVs and hybrids 20% of all new car sales by 2030.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Joe Bavier)
