Proton has just signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Smart Automobile at the 2023 China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), an annual trade show aimed at facilitating economic cooperation between China and ASEAN. The new document has been signed for both parties to study the feasibility of locally assembling Smart vehicles in Malaysia at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant.
This MoA signing took place exactly 20 months after both parties signed a similar document in 2022. The signing of the said MoA eventually led to the appointment of Proton’s subsidiary, Pro-Net as the official distributor for Smart vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand.
Proton Chief Executive Officer, Dr Li Chunrong said, “The new MoA between Proton and Smart Automobile brings our collaboration to a new level as now we are talking about assembling Smart models in Malaysia. As an automotive manufacturer, Proton always intended to raise our involvement with Smart beyond distribution for the ASEAN region as there are many efficiencies to take advantage of because both companies are members of the Geely Group”.
Since the MoA signing in 2022 between Proton and Smart Automobile, Proton has sent groups of workers to China for on-job-training stints specific to the EV industry to build a talent pool for its own EV market plans. The carmaker has also tested the Smart #1 extensively in Malaysia to gain knowledge of its performance when driven in Malaysia’s climate and road conditions.
RELATED: 2023 Smart #1 price range confirmed from RM200k to RM250k, 3 variants
Pro-Net on the other hand has also made progress by signing an MoU with Petronas’ renewable energy arm – Gentari, building working relationships with other EV ecosystem stakeholders, appointing ten Smart dealers throughout Malaysia, as well as conducting public showcases for the Smart #1 EV SUV.
Recently, the EV company launched its Hello Smart app, which offers new features including the integration of 70% of the charging maps from charging operators. This has been done to allow easy identification of availability, booking, and payment for EV chargers in the country. Pro-Net has also opened the order books for the Smart #1 in Malaysia and has confirmed the EV SUV’s price tag to be from RM200,000 to RM250,000, with three variants offered in total.
“Proton has committed to introducing more New Energy Vehicles (NEV) in the future. After the launch of the Proton X90, our first NEV, we are excited by the opportunity to learn more about EVs from our collaboration with Smart. Going forwards, all our production activities will be centred at the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV) in Tanjung Malim, which will also help in our goal to turn Malaysia into a regional EV hub”, added Dr Li Chunrong.
