Proton has taken a significant step forward in its partnership with Smart Automobile by signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at the 2023 China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO). This annual trade show, dedicated to fostering economic cooperation between China and the ASEAN region, witnessed the official reaffirmation of the collaboration that began in 2022.
Exactly 20 months after their initial agreement, which appointed Proton as the official distributor of smart vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand, the two companies have come together once more. The MoA was signed by Roslan Abdulah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Proton, and Mandy Zhang, Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing, and After-Sales at smart Automobile. The ceremony also saw the presence of key figures such as Dr. Li Chunrong, CEO of Proton, Tong Xiangbei, Global President of smart Automobile, and Zhang Qiang, CEO of PRO-NET. Mr. Unny Shankar, Director for the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), represented the Malaysian ministry’s presence.
The initial MoA aimed to explore the potential for Proton to introduce smart’s electric vehicle (EV) offerings to the ASEAN market. In contrast, the new agreement focuses on studying the feasibility of locally assembling smart vehicles at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant.
Since the first MoA signing in 2022, Proton has made significant strides in representing smart in the region. The General Distributorship Agreement (GDA) was inked in August of the previous year, swiftly followed by the establishment of PRO-NET, a Proton subsidiary dedicated to the company’s interests in the EV sector.
Proton has sent groups of employees to China for on-the-job training specific to the EV industry, forming a talent pool for its own future EV market endeavors. They have also conducted extensive testing of the smart #1 in Malaysia to understand its performance under the unique climate and road conditions of the region. Meanwhile, PRO-NET has solidified partnerships, including an MoU with GENTARI, the renewable energy arm of PETRONAS, and established working relationships with various stakeholders in the EV ecosystem. Additionally, ten smart dealers have been appointed, and the smart #1 has been introduced to the public at various events.
In a recent development, Proton launched the Hello smartApp on September 14th, offering four groundbreaking features in Malaysia. Notably, it integrates 70% of the charging maps from charging operators, simplifying the identification of available EV chargers, enabling easy booking, and facilitating payment for these services across the country. This move reaffirms Proton’s commitment to advancing the EV landscape in Malaysia and the ASEAN region, further solidifying its partnership with smart Automobile.
