EMAS means ‘gold’ in Malaysia, but for Malaysian manufacturer Proton, it also means ‘Eco Mobility Advance Solution’ – the basis for three hybrid vehicles revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.

The results of collaboration between Proton, it subsidiary Lotus Cars and Italian design house Italdesign Giugiaro (IDG), the EMAS concepts cover a five-door hatchback, a three-door Crossover hatchback and a three-door City hatchback. 

All are powered by a Lotus developed plug-in hybrid drive system with an innovative 1.2-litre, 38kW three cylinder engine - which can be fuelled by petrol, ethanol, methanol or natural gas – mounted transversely at the front and used as a generator to recharge the 11.5kWh lithium ion batteries.

The electric motor provides direct drive (no transmission) and delivers 240Nm of torque, peak power of 75kW or continuous power of 45kW. Top speed is 170km/h and zero to 100 km/h takes 14 seconds.

Proton says the range in electric mode is 50kms and a full recharge from a 240 Volt source takes three hours.

IDG’s thought-provoking styling provides compact car dimensions with SUV-inspired interior space. The five-door hatchback provides four identically-sized seats (Proton calls them ‘Business Class’ seats) within its 2590mm wheelbase (3550mm overall length). 

There is plenty of glass (the windscreen extends along three-quarters of the roof to provide a sky-dome effect), but to reduce weight, only the lower parts of the side windows actually open (to pay tolls).

For off-road inspired Crossover, the two individual rear seats are replaced by a three-passenger bench seat which folds flat to provide 780 litres of luggage space (390 litres when the seat is in place).

The City hatchback is only 3000mm long and offers three doors and 3+1 seating.

Inside, with the batteries placed underneath, the raised seating positions are SUV-like and provide excellent visibility. An interesting concept is the center console which can be folded away to allow passengers to climb over for easier exit/entry when parked in tight locations.