Malaysia’s EV market had its biggest month ever in August 2026, with 8,833 battery-electric cars registered, and more than half of them wore the same badge. The Proton e.MAS 5 alone accounted for 4,770 of those registrations, or 54% of every EV sold in the country, the first time one model has taken more than half of a month’s EV registrations since the market grew past 1,000 a month.
Strip the e.MAS 5 out and the rest of the EV market did not grow at all in August, it shrank, from 4,535 registrations in July to 4,063, a fall of 10%. The record EV month was really a one-car story.
Within the EV chart the gulf to the rest of the field is stark. The Tesla Model 3 was the month’s runner-up on 659 units, meaning the e.MAS 5 outsold it more than seven to one, and it sold more than the other nine cars in the top 10 put together. Proton’s own e.MAS 7 was third on 613 and the Tesla Model Y fourth on 507, with nothing else above 310.
e.MAS 5’s sales opened 2026 with 3,068 registrations in January, good for fifth place in the overall sales chart, then slid into a mid-year lull that bottomed out at 883 units and 17th place in May. It has climbed every month since, to 2,402 in July and now 4,770, a record for the model. That takes it back to fifth overall, matching its January high, behind only the Perodua Bezza, Perodua Axia, Proton Saga and Perodua Myvi, four petrol staples that have defined the Malaysian market for years. No other EV has finished in the top five.
The knock-on effects run through Proton’s numbers too. The e.MAS 5 made up 89% of the 5,383 EVs Proton registered in August, itself the highest monthly EV total any brand has ever posted in Malaysia, and the model now has 17,837 registrations for the year.
Whether August’s surge reflects a step change in demand or a bunching of deliveries, the next couple of months will tell. Either way, the shape of Malaysia’s EV market right now is one very big car, then everyone else.
Want to dig deeper? Our car sales data tool lets you explore and analyse Malaysian new-vehicle registrations in detail, from monthly and yearly trends for every make and model to rankings by brand, body type and fuel, plus dedicated views for the EV market and the national carmakers, all built on the same JPJ data behind this story and updated every month.
Proton eMas 5
from RM59,800 
Proton S70
from RM59,800 
Proton X90
from RM106,800 
Proton eMas 7 PHEV
from RM109,800 
Proton X70
from RM106,800 
Proton Saga
from RM38,990 
Proton X50
from RM89,800 
Proton eMas 7
from RM103,800 
Perodua handed over their EV-ish Myvi to Proton Emas5 with lousy design and battery renting model
Emas 5 winning is like the scene in The Dictator where the main character wins the 100m sprint but severely handicaps his opponents and with the help of the race officials. If it is an open market where all can compete without Mee Tee and Jo Har Ree’s help then it is a victory worth celebrating.
If that’s how you think then same can be said for emas5 because i can barely see that ugly sin on the road
thats the power of right hand drive engineering
The power of MITI
graph should also be separated into price range instead of general sale only
Thanks to useless, i mean unity, gomen raised BYD prices from rm50k to rm200k.
With price protection by Gormen and not level playing field, of course miles ahead in sales. Try letting other EV players same level playing field, then we see and know if Proton is shiok sendiri or a real jaguh!
good job emas 5 and Tesla
By imposing heavy Import duty on cheap Chinese EVs Memang menang la. If EMas 5 (also cop proton , product by geely) can sell in Spore atau mana mana itu baru kuat.
Without e.Mas5, that 4.7k figure would have gone to another Proton Saga or Perodua.
Your chart comparing models is not fair. Tesla’s price vs e.mas 5 price is not the same level. If Tesla was sold at e.mas 5 price or if e.mas 5 was sold at Tesla’s price, this whole article would show the real difference.
So if you look at it from a different perspective, Tesla has actually done exceptionally well, when you consider the price it is selling at.
Then, as others here have pointed out – no other car brand can technically drop their prices to fight with Proton e.mas 5, based on the new regulations formulated by MITI. So to then expect other brands to do as well or better, is just impossible and never will be able to match.
Dare to open for free competition without tongkat?