Proton, the budget-driven brand best known in the UK for the Satria Neo, Impian and Savvy, has just taken the wraps of its first-ever pure-electric car – the e.MAS 7. 

The newcomer is essentially a rebadged Geely Galaxy E5, with the two sharing the same Geely Electric Architecture (GEA). The base-level e.MAS 7 Prime comes with a 49.5kWh battery for a WLTP-rated 214 miles of range, while the higher-spec Premium trim has a 60.2kWh unit which returns up to 254 miles of range. 

Proton says the Premium can take on a 200kW recharge rate for a 30 to 80 per cent top-up time of 20 minutes. The e.MAS 7 also features cell-to-chassis technology which incorporates the battery into the body of the car, something we’ve recently seen in the Leapmotor C10.

A 215bhp front-mounted electric motor propels the e.MAS 7 from 0-62mph in 6.9 seconds, making it the fastest-accelerating Proton production car ever. 

Styling wise, there is barely anything to differentiate it from the Galaxy E5 other than the replacement of the Geely badge with a Proton one. Equipment includes 18-inch wheels as standard (the Premium gets 19-inch rims), LED lights front and rear, a dual panoramic sunroof, speakers in the headrests, fully reclinable front seats, a 15.4-inch touchscreen, a head-up display and even vehicle-to-load functionality. 

At 4,615mm long, the e.MAS 7 is much longer than the new Vauxhall Frontera Electric (4,385mm) and the MG ZS EV (4,323mm). But it undercuts both of those cars by a healthy margin (in its Malaysian homeland at least), with pricing kicking off at RM109,800 (roughly £19,475) and the Premium coming in at RM123,000 (around £22,000). 

Proton quit the UK in 2014 and there are no plans to relaunch here, although Geely is the parent company of a number of brands that do sell in Britain, including Volvo, Lotus, Polestar and Smart.