National car maker Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (Proton) on Tuesday hinted that it will launch several models of new energy vehicles (NEV) soon, national news agency Bernama reported.

“We will launch (the models) very soon. We will launch one model, maybe in the next six and eight months later, we will launch the second one (which includes other non-NEV models as well),” Chief Executive Officer Dr Li Chunrong was quoted as saying.

Li said this during his presentation on Proton’s ‘Future Plan Product Strategy’ at the company’s Chinese New Year Prosperity Dinner on Tuesday.

He also said Proton is planning to grow its powertrain portfolio with the launch of a new-generation engine, offering a more competitive advantage in the market, according to the report.

“Proton also intends to capture the number one ranking in after-sales service,” he said.

In 2023, Proton achieved its fifth consecutive year of sales growth with total sales (domestic and export) of 154,611 units, its strongest sales performance since 2012.

This represented a 9.3 percent increase over the 141,432 units sold in 2022.

Proton Car is the national car brand of Malaysia. The brand was established in the early 1980’s at the behest of the Malaysian government, and later reverted to semi-private ownership under DRB Hicom.

In May 2017, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and DRB-Hicom signed a deal that will see Zhejiang Geely Holding Group buy a 49.9 percent stake in Proton Cars. Under this deal, Geely Holding Group is committed to seeing a full revival of Proton Cars to being the number one Malaysian domestic brand and the leading brand in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia’s Proton plans for comprehensive new energy vehicle solutions