At Proton’s Chinese New Year media appreciation dinner yesterday, the national carmaker teased that it is working on not one, but (possibly) two EVs. Aside from that, the company also revealed that is is setting up a new R&D centre in Hangzhou, China for the development of its homegrown models, namely the Saga, Persona, and Iriz.

It’s worth noting that Geely is also based in Hangzhou, so chances are, the Chinese carmaker will be lending a hand in the development of the next generation Saga, Persona, and Iriz. At the moment, it remains to be seen if the upcoming models will be based on Geely’s platforms or otherwise.

Beyond that, Proton also shared that these homegrown models will even be electrified as New Energy Vehicles (NEV). Again, it’s not known to what extent the electrification will be, though it’s possible Proton will implement a similar powertrain as the mild hybrid system of the Proton X90.

While R&D of the next generation Proton Saga, Persona, and Iriz will not be done locally, we reckon Proton itself will still continue to play a big part in the development of these models. After all, these are still considered the national carmaker’s homegrown products.