Thought the markup for the Proton e.MAS 7 was bad? Be thankful you’re not in Australia then…
Geely Australia’s official website confirmed that it will soon be making its brand debut over there next year, and one of its premiere models will be the EX5 e-SUV. But while this is big news in itself, most Malaysians will probably be more interested in the fact that this Proton e.MAS 7 mechanical twin will cost around A$72,200 (RM 200,000) down under!
Yes, while many Malaysians were already complaining that the newly-launched Proton e.MAS 7 had about a 50% markup over its Geely counterpart in China, the Australians meanwhile are set to see the same Chinese e-SUV cost between 2-3x what it does in its home market. This Geely e-SUV currently retails from between 112,800 yuan (RM 70,000) and 148,800 yuan (RM 90,000) in China.
Now it is worth highlighting here too that the exact specs of this upcoming EX5 in Australia has not been officially disclosed yet, but one has to expect that this Geely e-SUV will be chock full of features, in order to justify that price tag. This will therefore likely see for its kit list to mirror what is observed in the flagship Proton e.MAS 7 Premium, which comes with niceties such as a panoramic sunroof and a 16-speaker sound system (with integrated headrest speakers).
Other standard features worth a mention in the EX5 are its 10.2-inch instrument panel and 15.4-inch central infotainment touchscreen with a 2.5K resolution display, as well as for it to feature a rather practical slide-out rear drawer under its second row seat. This Geely e-SUV expectedly also will come with the usual suite of Level 2 ADAS kit, in addition to 6 airbags and an active grille shutter.
It is all but likely too that the Geely EX5 down under will be featuring the larger capacity 60.22 kWh Aegis Short Blade LFP battery pack, which in the Proton e.MAS 7 at least claims a WLTP-rated driving range of 410 km. Propulsion for this e-SUV in turn will be handled by a front-mounted ’12-in-1 Electric Drive System’ that outputs 160 kW (218 PS) and 320 Nm of torque, enabling it to sprint from 0-100 km/h in a decent 6.9 seconds, before eventually topping out at 175 km/h.
There have been speculations that Geely has calibrated the camera and radar systems to adapt to the Australian driving conditions. Though perhaps more proudly for Malaysians is that the EX5s sold down under may be using the Proton e.MAS 7’s suspension tuning, which was performed by people from the roaring lion marque.
Though while on the topic of Proton, the elephant in the room that should be brought up here is why Geely has decided to enter Australia as itself, instead of using the roaring lion marque. This is especially when considering that Proton already has history down under, not to mention too the previous agreement between the two companies for Proton to essentially be Geely’s right-hand drive subsidiary.
The Geely EX5 is incidentally sold as a Geely in the similarly right-hand drive Thailand, with it to apparently also eventually make landfall in Indonesia and Hong Kong as a Geely too. This e-SUV is however strangely sold as a Proton e.MAS 7 in Singapore and Brunei, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, Nepal and Mauritius.
