Proton’s first electric car looks like a Porsche ordered from Alibaba

The new Proton e.MAS 7 will be available in early 2025, starting at just US$24,400

Proton Malaysia has just launched its first electric car, the e.MAS 7, an SUV that wanted to stand out but couldn’t stick to it. Behind the Porsche styling cues and ambitious marketing, the heart of the e.MAS 7 is a rebadged Geely Galaxy E5. It’s a simple exercise in badge engineering that doesn’t break new ground, but it does look modern.

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Let’s start with the basics. The Proton e.MAS 7 is a compact SUV with a length of 4,615 mm (181.7 inches if you don’t like the metric system) and a wheelbase of 2,750 mm (108.3 inches). If you have seen the Geely Galaxy, congratulations, you have seen the e.MAS 7. The only noticeable difference is the conspicuous absence of the Proton badge on the hood and Geely’s illuminated grille. Proton’s big electric car debut is essentially the automotive equivalent of adding a new logo to a Word document template and calling it a “custom design.”

Porsche vibe, but at a discount

The e.MAS 7 and Galaxy twins borrow some pretty obvious styling cues from Porsche. Full-width LED taillights? Yes, straight out of the Cayenne. Greenhouse and surface carving? And Cayenne style. paint? Oh, you mean “Quartz Rose,” which happens to look a lot like the Provence launch color of the Porsche Macan EV? We’re sure it’s all a coincidence.

Proton is also available in four other shades including Platinum Silver, Turquoise Green, Slate Gray and Lithium White, as well as Indigo interior, in case you prefer low-cost luxury cosplay.

Proton e.MAS 7

Geely Galaxy E5

Powertrain and battery

Coming back to Proton, the e.MAS 7 shares its underpinnings and specifications with its Geely twin. It uses Geely’s Global Intelligent New Energy Architecture (GEA) and is equipped with a front-mounted electric motor that produces 215 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque. It’ll hit 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.9 seconds, which is pretty good and makes it the fastest Proton yet, but still firmly in “I guess that’s good” territory.

The battery pack is available in two capacities, 49.52 kWh or 60.22 kWh, with a WLTP range of 345 kilometers (214 miles) or 410 kilometers (255 miles). According to Paultan, Proton claims the battery remains 90.5% healthy after 921 complete cycles, equivalent to 400,000 kilometers (approximately 250,000 miles)