Proton Tg Malim engine plant supplies Geely products in Vietnam, Mexico, South Africa; 8 local vendors

In its press release announcing the expansion of its Tanjung Malim engine assembly plant to include hybrid, plug-in hybrid and EV powertrains, Proton also confirmed that the facility now supplies components to Geely products sold in overseas markets, such as Vietnam, South Africa and as far away as Mexico.

No details about these initiative have been revealed just yet, but some quick Googling suggests that the engines have made their way to the Geely Coolray (known to you and me as the Proton X50) in these countries. The car has been newly upgraded in all three markets with the latest 181 PS/290 Nm 1.5 litre turbo four-cylinder engine, which Proton badges Intelligent Green Technology (i-GT).

We do know that Vietnam most likely receives the Coolray from the Perak town, continuing an arrangement in place since late 2024; Geely’s own plant is only scheduled to begin operations later this year. Given that the ASEAN nation is a left-hand-drive one, it stands to reason that Proton also exports the car to Mexico (rather than exporting the engine to China to be put in a Chinese-built car).

Meanwhile, Geely has only just launched the Coolray in South Africa, its first non-electrified model to be sold there. The car effectively replaces the X50, which was offered in the country before the Proton distributorship ended earlier this year. Having built cars for the market, the national carmaker is likely continuing to do so, albeit with Geely badges now stuck on.

Proton says the growing exports reflects well on the Malaysian automotive industry, “reinforcing Malaysia’s position within the global automotive value chain and demonstrating the capability of local operations to meet international quality standards.” It is already preparing to increase annual capacity from the current 240,000 units to 400,000 in response.

It will also be a boon to Malaysian parts vendors – the supplier network for the engine factory includes a total of 16 companies, half of which are local. The company adds that the initiative “strengthens the competitiveness and technical capabilities of Malaysian automotive vendors.”

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