Geely Galaxy Starship 7 to be CKD in Thailand – what happened to Proton being ASEAN production hub?

Some news from up north – Geely Thonburi, the distributor for Geely vehicles in Thailand, has announced plans to sell the new Galaxy Starship 7 in the Land of Smiles, according to Headlight Magazine. This confirms that the plug-in hybrid SUV will be offered as a global model, converted to right-hand drive.

The news is not surprising, given that the car is basically the hybrid version of the all-electric EX5, sold here as the Proton eMas 7. As such, we can expect the Starship 7 to make its way here, too – something we’ve expected for a while, as we’ve already reported on Proton trademarking the eMas 7 PHEV name.

What is surprising is that Geely Thonburi is planning CKD local assembly for the Starship 7 in Thailand – which means the EX5 will probably be built there eventually as well. That’s despite Geely telling us that Proton would remain the production hub for the ASEAN market, having already reneged on its promise (admittedly from nearly a decade ago) to make the national carmaker its right-hand drive hub and its pledge to not enter this region.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Proton brand and its manufacturing capacity will be limited to the Malaysian market and a handful of small export markets. Either that or the company will have to compete with Geely in larger markets, offering the same models but without the same marketing might or the same economies of scale to lower prices – something that is already being played out in South Africa.

Anyway, more about the car, which is powered by Geely’s EM-i plug-in hybrid powertrain. This consists of a 111 PS/136 Nm 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine and a 218 PS/262 Nm electric motor integrated into the electrified dedicated hybrid transmission (E-DHT). The car is able to get from zero to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds and, with the largest 19.09 kWh Aegis short blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, has a pure electric range of 120 km on China’s lenient CLTC cycle. Total range is 1,420 km.

GALLERY: Geely Galaxy Starship 7 at Auto Shanghai 2025

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