KUALA LUMPUR: Proton has been proposing and working on the idea of producing its own hybrid and EV vehicles for more than a decade now and at one point announced that it would be collaborating with Bosch for hybrid cars as early as 2010.
Since then, for unknown reasons the project did not materialise. However, the local manufacturer may finally have its own hybrid and subsequently electric vehicle (EV) soon following a recent development between Volvo and parent company Geely.
According to a report from Autocar, the Volvo-Geely partnership is set to have a dedicated firm to focus on developing more efficient next-generation engines and hybrid powertrains.
The firm would carry on to supply regular and hybrid combustion engines to Geely’s set of brands including Volvo, Lotus, Proton, LEVC and Lynk&Co.
On top of that, the business would also possible to serve as a supplier to other third-party clients.
The report also stated that the firm will be comprised of around 5,000 current Geely employees and 3,000 from Volvo, with no job losses predicted.
Volvo says the decision will allow it to focus on the development of fully-electric cars and hybrid powertrains as the company is committed to offer an electrified version of every model.
While Volvo has already been offering plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model in T8 form in recent years, Proton on the other hand has never made hybrid or EV cars available to the public.
Back in 2010 and 2011, the national carmaker had come up with the Range Extender Electric Exora and UTM-Proton developed Saga EV, and the duo participated in the RAC Future Car Challenge 2011from Brighton to London.
The participating team in fact even won two awards – the Most Efficient Multi-Purpose Car (Prototype) and the Best Overall Extended-Range Vehicle (E-REV) – but things have been silent since.
Another development was in 2016 when Lotus appeared to be developing a new 1.2-litre SOHC three-cylinder petrol engine (rated with RHEV type) which was said to be fitted to the Proton Iriz for internal testing.
And in recent developments, not long after the Proton-Geely venture, it was reported that Proton hybrids, PHEVs and EVs were in the pipeline.
So with the merging of the powertrain teams from Geely and Volvo, will Proton’s electrified products finally be realized?