Quick look
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The government program provides RM2,000 from the government and RM2,000 from Proton when trading-in a vehicle older than 20 years.
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For the Saga and e.MAS 5, however, the total amount will be RM2,000 (RM1,000 from Proton matched by RM1,000 from the government).
The government has launched a Matching Grant Programme for the Replacement of Old Vehicles and while some misunderstood it as money being paid for any vehicle 20 years or older, the actual process requires the purchase of a new vehicle. So it’s a trade-in process where the owner of the old vehicle will get RM2,000 from the car company and the government match the amount. However, this is not cash and is essentially used to offset the purchase cost.
PROTON has announced that all the current models in its range will be available for this programme. However, for the new Saga and e.MAS 5 models, the amount given will be RM1L000, so the government will pay the other RM1,000. For other models, including the e.MAS 7, X50 and X70, the amount will be RM2,000 so with the government adding another RM2,000, that’s RM4.000 which can be used to offset the downpayment.
The programme’s aim is to remove old and unused vehicles which will be scrapped, enabling the owners to use newer cars with better safety features and also cleaner engines. Although the Transport Minister said that it is also going to help ‘reduce congestion’, we don’t think this will be the case at all. In fact, it could even add a few more cars because cars that were not being used would now be replaced by a new model which the owner will surely want to use and not just display it outside the house.
The programme is also not open-ended; only RM10 million has been allocated under Budget 2026, and it would mean only around 5,000 old vehicles would be replaced. But there won’t be 5,000 vehicles less – an insignificant amount if you talk about reducing congestion.
Such a programme for replacing old vehicles is not new and was run many years ago. The earlier programme too had a limit and once the funding was used up, it ended. Such programmes are also run by governments in some other countries which also allocate a fixed amount. Italy, for example, introduced a similar programme offering up to 9,000 euros (about RM42,000) to owners of older vehicles who would change to new EVs.
“The incentive offered by PROTON is an extension of the PROTON Xchange Programme launched in May 2025. Offering up to RM2,000 in over trade for customers who scrapped their old vehicles for a new Proton model, 4,344 transactions were made resulting in approximately RM8.68 million being given out towards the purchase of a new car by the end of2025,” revealed Dr Li Chunrong, CEO of PROTON.
“PROTON is proud to be able to offer our customers even more value by being a partner in the Malaysian government’s Matching Grant Programme for the Replacement of Old Vehicles. This initiative will encourage the responsible replacement of old, unroadworthy vehicles and improve road safety while supporting the transition towards cleaner and more efficient mobility,” he added.
