Proton e.MAS 7 epic road trip: 10,432 km across 9 ASEAN countries

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s best-selling EV, the Proton e.MAS 7 has added one more feature to its cap by successfully completing a historic 10,432 km journey across nine ASEAN nations.

This epic 22-day drive was a part of the ASEAN Unity Drive 2025, a regional road trip organised by the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), under the MITI, and supported by PRO-NET as the main sponsor. It was completed incident-free and brought all drivers home safely.

“Completing over 10,000 kilometres across nine countries without a single battery issue is no small feat,” said Zhang Qiang, CEO of PRO-NET. “Everyone who has ever worked on the Proton e.MAS 7 project can be proud of this achievement. This journey belongs to all of us.”

Real-world endurance across Southeast Asia

• The Proton EV completed the first and longest multi-nation EV endurance drive across Southeast Asia, driving through 9 nations - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, East Malaysia (Sarawak & Sabah), Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.
• It surpassed the initial target of 9,000 km by over 1,400 km, demonstrating its remarkable reliability, endurance, and battery safety throughout the multi-nation challenge.
• During the trip, the EV faced intense heat, humidity, and poor road conditions in Southeast Asia, where the vehicle’s high-efficiency battery system demonstrated consistent performance without any drop in safety or range.

Range anxiety and charging solutions

Undoubtedly, the trip was challenging, say drivers, as they faced range anxiety in remote areas. Mohd Adib bin Mohd Azam recalled his experience, “We encountered one situation where the charging point was farther than the remaining range. We stop at a coffee shop and use the portable AC charging to make up for the shortage of battery percentage so we can reach the charging point.”

During this iconic drive, the team relied on local apps and search engines to find charging stations. In countries like Laos, where charging facilities were unavailable, they used domestic outlets and mobile chargers.

“On longer journeys, we had to stop overnight and tactically charge for a long trip the next day, which happened quite often, and we were constantly driving long distances each day for weeks,” said driver Peter Hugh Davis, an actor and mixed martial artist.

With this remarkable feat, the Proton e.MAS 7 sets a new benchmark for electric mobility in the region. It has been selected as the official vehicle for the ASEAN Summit 2025, transporting leaders and delegates. It marks a significant milestone in Malaysia’s push toward sustainable and future-forward mobility.

Also read: Proton R&D centre in China turns one; marks key role in new model development