The Proton eMAS 7 – if you’ve noticed – has this little quirk of playing a little jingle when the car is cruising at low speeds below 30 km/h. That is the pedestrian warning sound, and starting next year, it will be mandatory for electric vehicles (EV) in Malaysia.
The reason for that is because of something called the UN ECE R138, a regulation by the United Nations (UN) that requires all quiet road transport vehicles (QRTV) – which includes EVs – to have acoustic vehicle alert system (AVAS) to come as standard.
Malaysia will be adopting the UN ECE regulation starting next year, as confirmed by a letter filed by the Road Transport Department (JPJ), per Paultan.org.
The letter was filed in response to a proposal by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) back in 2023, suggesting for the AVAS regulation to be made mandatory in Malaysia – and potentially included into the requirements for vehicle type approval (VTA) inspections.
Starting in 2026, all EVs in Malaysia must comply with this regulation. As per the UN ECE R138 regulation, AVAS will be mandatory for “electrified vehicles” of categories M and N, which will include cars (M1), buses (M2/M3), light goods vehicle (N1), as well as heavy lorries (N2/M3).
The regulations will also apply to hybrids (HEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV); anything that has a powertrain with “at least one electric motor or electric motor-generator”, and “can travel in the normal mode, in reverse, or at least one forward drive gear, without an internal combustion engine operating in respect to their audibility”.
The audible pedestrian warning sound will need to be always present at speeds of up to 20 km/h – although many carmakers opt for a higher 30 km/h cut-off mark, possibly to unify the different regulations in various markets.
Today, most EVs already have pedestrian warning systems built in as standard since many countries require it. But in the case of the Proton eMAS 7, the ‘ice cream van’ sound can get loud. So loud, in fact, that drivers complained that they could hear it from inside the cabin.
The loud AVAS system isn’t exactly the fault of Proton, since the eMAS 7 is a badge-engineered Geely Galaxy EX5 imported (CBU) from China, which is built according to China’s market requirements for AVAS system. China’s own GB/T 37153-2018 regulation is itself based on the UN ECE R138, but the warning sound is required to be 2 dB louder.
READ: No more ice-cream van – Pro-Net to address Proton eMAS 7 customer complaints via OTA updates
That said, Proton has promised to “give customers more options” for the SUV’s AVAS sound through over-the-air software updates. With the UN ECE R138 regulation coming into effect in Malaysia next year, though, we doubt Proton will be giving customers the option of turning it off completely – or permanently.
The regulation does allow the AVAS to be temporarily deactivated by the driver, although it will be automatically reactivated when the vehicle is started upon each vehicle turn-off.
READ: Proton breaks ground on RM82m EV factory – eMAS 7 production to begin end-2025
