This new all-electric sedan from Geely certainly has the specs to be one helluva Proton Perdana.
While Proton may be focusing mainly on its SUV lineup these days, the imminent launch of the S70 still shows that the Malaysian automaker hasn’t forgotten about the sedan segment too. So what about then for a revival of its flagship Perdana nameplate, with this new Geely Galaxy E8 as its base?
Having recently been partially revealed in China, this Geely certainly has the specs to become one really amazing Perdana. For one, it certainly is large enough to be a flagship Proton sedan, measuring in at an E-Class-rivalling 5,010 mm long, 1,920 mm wide and 1,465 mm tall.
With a swoopy silhouette and a clean overall exterior aesthetic, the Galaxy E8 is also a rather handsome looking sedan too. Though actually going from past results (with the rather nice looking Accordana as an example), Proton may just be able to make this Geely look even better, by adding their signature Malaysian aesthetic to what is essentially a blank canvas here.
Proton however would do well to retain this Geely’s outstandingly low drag coefficient of 0.19 Cd when undertaking the exterior redesign. There really isn’t much for the Malaysian automaker to do within the Galaxy E8 aside from switching the steering wheel (or yoke in this case) to the other side and sticking the lion badge on it too, as the cabin of this Chinese sedan could already make a BMW 5-Series buyer think twice about their purchase.
Coming standard within this leather-lined cabin of the Galaxy E8 is after all a 45-inch 8K unbounded smart screen that runs rights across the dashboard, in addition to a 25.6-inch augmented reality display projected onto the windscreen. The aforementioned yoke steering wheel is also the tip of the tech toys with this Chinese sedan too, as a LIDAR concealed within its roof indicates for it to likely also be available with at least some form of autonomous driving capability.
That said, given the fact that this Galaxy E8 is a fully-electric car would already be good enough reason for Proton to turn this into a Perdana. This large sedan supposedly packs a single electric motor out back that is good for a decent 272 PS, with dual-motored variants apparently to be available too.
Further specifics however regarding its battery size and range estimates are unfortunately not available thus far, with said details likely only to be available during its full reveal at a later date. What is nevertheless known though is for the Galaxy E8 to be built upon Geely’s Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform. A platform which also underpins Lotus’ upcoming Emeya super sedan, it would certainly be poetic to see Proton finally launching a Perdana with some DNA from the British sports car maker they used to own.
Now being realistic for a second, the chances of this Galaxy E8 turning into the next Perdana is admittedly rather slim. Not least because demand for a large luxury sedan from Malaysians might not be strong enough to warrant the rebadging effort.
It remains the question too whether Proton has the ability to locally assemble a fully electric car or not, with Geely’s supposed Automotive Hi-Tech Valley (AHTV) in Tanjung Malim still nothing more than an agreement on paper. What more is that while the idea of Proton kick-starting its EV revolution with a flagship sedan sounds like the right path of progression, this new all-electric Perdana would likely not do as well as a more mass-market alternative in terms of encouraging EV adoption in Malaysia, which is something the government would likely prefer.
Though speaking of the government, it was recently reported that they are looking to acquire a fleet of fully-electric vehicles for official use. And wouldn’t it be right for our people in charge to once again be riding behind a Malaysian(-ish) car in the form of a new all-electric Perdana instead?
