by AUFA MARDHIAH / Pic courtesy of Michelle Kuan Public Relations Consultancy
PROTON Edar Sdn Bhd outlook for this year’s automotive industry is heading towards automotive demand and high outstanding booking for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) received, prior to the end of the Sales and Services Tax (SST) in June.
“We are aware of the Malaysian Automotive Association’s (MAA) revised forecast in June, on rough calculations it will be higher than what MAA targeted. If everything is in order, based on outstanding bookings (mostly OEM) numbers can go up to as high as 680,000 internally for C — which is subjected to the current economic situation and component supply.
“For instance, the chip shortage issue that Proton is facing. I’m confident that we can deliver all the units under SST exemption by March 31, 2023,” said Proton Edar CEO Roslan Abdullah (left) to the media after the signing ceremony between Solaroo Systems Sdn Bhd and Proton Global Services Sdn Bhd.
He also stated that Proton’s smart automobile would be launched in the first quarter of next year and the car will be available by May 2023. The national carmaker will also look into providing charging infrastructure to offer package options for home charging — the possibility of investing with the right partners.
Commenting further on Proton’s expectation in achieving total net-zero carbon, he said: “We have to be realistic because we need to consider a lot of factors, particularly the economics, investment and logistic issues for the location that we aim for. We look into the possibility of the solar installation at our dealership and the vendors. At the moment our partner for this initiative is Pekat Group Bhd.”
The ceremony today was aimed at promoting the adoption of solar PV systems as part of the national automaker’s energy sustainability initiatives. It was also a continuation of the collaboration between Pekat and Proton — following Pekat’s successful launch of a 12 megawatt-peak (MWp) grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) system at Proton’s manufacturing plant in Tanjung Malim, Perak.
On the target goals for the collaboration, Solaroo Systems director Johann Sze (second from right): “We are very realistic with the current situation, and have set a conservative target of 50 PV sites by the end of 2023 — expected to cover 1.5MWp systems that will cover residential, commercial and industrial segments.”
He also stated that Solaroo has financial banking and expertise for capital expenditure to fulfil the project within two years.
On Proton’s investment for the project, Roslan said the company is putting around between RM5 million and RM12 million in total during the period (nationwide programme).
On the other hand, Pekat chairman Kok Kong Chin said: “Pekat’s operations and maintenance unit — Pekat RE Maintenance Sdn Bhd — has become the first Malaysian recipient of all three operations and maintenance certifications provided by TUV Nord (M) Sdn Bhd.”
Previously, Proton signed a distributorship agreement with Smart Automobile to sell their range of new energy vehicles in Malaysia and Thailand — as part of Proton’s new energy initiatives. By acquiring experience and expertise from the selling of smart vehicles, Proton will eventually launch new energy models with its own brand name.
Pekat’s RM33.1 million, 23-acre (9.3ha) solar PV asset at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant has the potential to provide annual energy savings of RM5.85 million for the automaker and reduce CO2 emissions from the facility by up to 11,536 tonnes per annum. The company has successfully secured over 195MW of solar rooftop PV installation projects nationwide across residential and commercial and industrial customers.