The new Proton Saga and the e.MAS 5 were presented to the Malaysian and Chinese prime ministers during the ASEAN Summit.
National automaker Proton has stolen the limelight at the ongoing ASEAN Summit 2025 in Kuala Lumpur by showcasing two of their upcoming models, the new Proton Saga and the Proton e.MAS 5 EV. The two models were presented to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the Premier of the People's Republic of China, Li Qiang.
This momentous occasion marked a historic moment for both Malaysia and China, as it symbolised both nations’ shared commitment to strengthening cooperation in industrial development, technological innovation, and advancement. At the same time, it also reflected the success of the partnership between Malaysia’s DRB-Hicom and China’s Geely Holding Group in driving Proton forward to become a modern automotive company.
Interestingly, this presentation also marks the first time the new Proton Saga has been shown to the public without any camouflage wrap seen on spy shots around the web. Set to be launched later this year, which is 40 years after its first debut back in 1985, the new Saga is set to debut Proton’s new Advanced Modular Architecture (AMA) platform while also being the first model to be fully designed, engineered, and validated by Malaysian talent with technical collaboration from Geely.
More importantly, the new Saga carries Proton’s full intellectual property rights (IPR), which represents a major milestone in the nation’s automotive production capability, while proving that homegrown Malaysian talent can design and develop a complete vehicle that meets international standards.
Also shown alongside the new Saga is the upcoming Proton e.MAS 5, which is set to make its debut later this week. Already opened for booking with a tentative price range between RM60,000 and RM80,000, the e.MAS 5 is set to become the nation’s most affordable EV model, which is developed with Geely’s design and technology, while offering affordable sustainable mobility for more Malaysians.
On a broader scale, the display of these two new vehicles developed by Proton and Geely at the ASEAN Summit also reinforces the strong bilateral relationship between Malaysia and China and reflects the two nations’ shared vision of promoting industrial cooperation, technology transfer, and human capital development to support sustainable economic growth.
