Malaysia has joined the EV race. Proton, Malaysia’s oldest domestic car company, debuted the Southeast Asian country’s first homemade electric vehicle this week in a launch ceremony featuring a guest appearance by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“We want and hope to set an example in the region,” Anwar said Monday at the launch event. Malaysia’s prime minister has pressed Proton and fellow Malaysian carmaker Perodua to start producing electric cars.
Proton developed the e.MAS 7, an electric SUV, with China’s Geely, whose parent company owns a 49.9% in the Malaysian carmaker. The e.MAS 7 comes in two variants, with the more expensive “Premium” model costing 123,800 Malaysian ringgit ($27,441).
The car will also soon be available in neighboring Singapore, through an agreement with VINCAR, an auto distributor.
Proton presented its first EV as the culmination of four decades of experience. “Proton has the expertise to develop a car from the ground up, from a robust supply chain to comprehensive after-sales support,” said Proton CEO Li Chunrong on Monday.
Yet Malaysia’s first EV has had a rocky rollout among the country’s drivers. On forums like Reddit’s Malaysia subreddit, users complained about the e.MAS 7’s price tag, given expectations that Proton’s first EV would be priced under 100,000 ringgit. Others suggested the e.MAS 7 was a rebadged version of Geely’s Galaxy E5, which launched in China in August.
Proton has previously said that the e.MAS 7 and Galaxy E5 were developed concurrently. The company has played up its efforts to design the e.MAS 7 for local tastes, claiming that R&D engineers spent over 700,000 man-hours developing the latest model, which then underwent 100,000 kilometers of testing across Malaysia’s terrain.
Fortune has reached out to Proton for comment.
Proton, founded in 1983, was Malaysia’s first local car company, following a drive by the country’s government to develop its own auto industry. The company started by selling rebadged vehicles from overseas manufacturers, but unveiled its first wholly locally developed car in 2000. Yet despite trying to build up its own auto line, Proton has suffered from criticism over its vehicle quality and after-sales service.
Malaysia has one other major domestic auto manufacturer: Perodua, established in 1993.
The Southeast Asian country imposes high import and excise duties on car imports, especially for completely built units. Yet Malaysia is offering tax breaks for EVs in a bid to attract investment and electrify the country’s fleet of cars. Completely built EVs currently enjoy a tax exemption until the end of 2025, while components for EVs assembled locally are exempt from import duties until the end of 2027.
