The ASEAN Unity Drive 2025 (AUD2025) began on March 21 as a landmark initiative that underscores Malaysia’s leadership in advancing green mobility, cross-border collaboration, and automotive innovation across Southeast Asia. As Malaysia holds the ASEAN Chairmanship for 2025, AUD 2025 reinforces the country’s role in leading the region’s transition towards green and smart mobility.
Spearheaded by the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), with support from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) and Tourism Malaysia, AUD2025 involved a regional road trip of 10,432 kms across 9 ASEAN nations (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia (including Sabah and Sarawak), Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore) over a period of 22 days.
The convoy of vehicles was made up of Proton models – the X series SUVs and the e.MAS 7 – which completed the historic journey completed free of incidents. Of note was the fact that the e.MAS 7 is a fully electric SUV and that it was able to travel through 9 nations in the region indicates that the transition to electrification of mobility is progressing well.
The original distance was 9,000 kms and was extended by over 1,400 kms but the e.MAS 7 demonstrated remarkable reliability, endurance, and battery safety throughout the multi-nation challenge.
“Completing over 10,000 kilometres across 9 countries without a single battery issue is no small feat,” said Zhang Qiang, CEO of PRO-NET, Proton’s subsidiary which handles New Energy Vehicles. “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.”
Driving in all types of conditions
Driving through the intense heat and humidity that is typical of Southeast Asia, the e.MAS 7 faced varied terrain and weather conditions in different areas. The high-efficiency battery system handled day after day of long-distance driving without a drop in performance or safety, a significant assurance to potential EV adopters across the region.
“There were some challenging routes where the road condition was bad and some of the routes took us far from a charging point,” recalled Mohd Adib bin Mohd Azam, one of the drivers in the convoy. “We encountered one situation where the charging point was farther than the remaining range. We stopped at a coffee shop and used the portable AC charging cable to an outlet there to get enough energy in the battery so we would be able to reach the charging point.”
Range anxiety at times too
Of course, the journey was not without moments of ‘range anxiety’ – the worry that the battery will be empty before charging point can be reached. It is something which worries those who think of getting an EV even though the e.MAS 7 has quite a good range.
Muhammad Taufiq bin Mohd. Zin, another of the driver, had such an experience along the way. “We had anticipated the trip from Lao to Cambodia would be challenging due to the availability of the next charging station from Pakse to Krong Kracheh, which is 356 kms apart. It gave us a bit of range anxiety although it was well within the range of the vehicle’s range for a full battery. But the driving conditions were a constant variable, which also meant that the range might not be as expected.”
Due to the unavailability and timing of charging stations, especially in Laos, the team brought a mobile charger to tap into the domestic (household) current supply. “On longer journeys, we had to stop overnight and tactically charge for a long trip the next day. That happened quite often, and we were constantly driving long distances each day for weeks,” said Peter Hugh Davis, an actor and mixed martial artist who joined the drive.
Yamin Vong, veteran motoring journalist, also drove a section of the AUD2025. His comments: “As an EV, what impressed me about the e.MAS delivered on its stated range of 430 kms when we started on our sector from Kota Kinabalu to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei. This included the road between Papar and the Sepitang border, part of the Pan Borneo Highway. However, this stretch is under construction and, much like a war zone, had to be driven through carefully. The e.MAS 7 capably coped with the huge potholes and gravel stretches. It rained heavily on the flood-prone Beaufort sector and the e.MAS handled the bad weather and water-logged conditions with aplomb. As a wannabe owner of an EV, this e.MAS inspires me.”
To locate charging stations, the team used local apps and search engines to locate charging stations. In Malaysia, however, owners can use the Live Charging Map which is unique to e.MAS vehicles as well as smart vehicles (which are also marketed by PRO-NET). At this time, almost 2,000 charging points around the country are indicated. Even better, the Live Charging Map also shows the status at each station (in use or available) and is integrated with the navigation system so route guidance can also be provided.
Click here to know more about the e.MAS 7 and to locate a Proton e.MAS dealer in Malaysia.