PROTON might be tempted to rebadge the Geely Panda Mini EV to race up the Malaysian sales charts.
Here comes a brand new possibility for PROTON cars in Malaysia as their partnership with Geely Auto might persuade Geely to produce a right hand drive version of this latest electric commuter car, the Geely Panda Mini EV.
Launched with a selling price in China from USD5,700 to USD7,000 (which is about RM25,400 to RM31,000 before handling, logistics and overheads) it could be a very popular city commuter vehicle for lower middle class Malaysians.
The retired, single mothers, young adults and even government employees who live and work in Putrajaya might be instant buyers.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Geely Holding has entered the electric microcar segment, which is gaining momentum in the Chinese market. There was a petrol powered Geely Panda that arrived in 2008 (China only). Anyway, right now this is the smallest Geely vehicle to date.
This Geely Panda electric car was initially expected to come under Geely’s Geometry brand but was instead unveiled under the parent company.
So far, the only rival to this Geely Panda EV is the Wuling Mini EV which has already delivered to Chinese buyers more than 316,000 in the first nine months.
Another rival is the latest version of the Chery QQ which has so far managed to find more that 81,000 buyers in China.
Meanwhile, here are some Panda Mini details. This little EV has a three-door body with a glass roof and a four-seat cabin configuration. The Panda is 3065 mm long, 1522 mm wide, 1600 mm high and has a wheelbase of just 2015 mm.
With all the seats up, there is virtually no room for luggage, so you will need to fold down the backrests of the split rear seats to carry any luggage (not too big as well).
The Panda dashboard fascia comes with a digital instrument cluster, an eight-inch media system screen and a separate climate control panel.
There is wireless smartphone charging, a heated windshield, a rearview camera, a keyless entry system and some features which can be controlled remotely from a smartphone.
This 1,105 kg electric car has rear-wheel drive that uses an electric motor with a capacity of 41hp, installed on the rear axle, which is a continuous axle.
Normal and Sport driving modes are provided. A lithium-iron-phosphate battery with a capacity of 17.3 kWh provides for about 150 km of driving range at best and one of the main advantages of the Panda over its competitors is the ‘fast charging’ capability as there is a DC device which has a power of 22 kW, while its rivals only have an AC charger with a maximum of just 7 kW.
