POEM Eleksuria - The forgotten story of Tun M’s failed attempt at making a Malaysian Tesla

Electric vehicles (EVs) are all the rage these days with almost every manufacturer trying to get into the “greener” way of mobility. Even Vietnam’s VinFast is being fully committed to EVs with the young carmaker planning to stop sales of its non-EV models by the end of 2022.

As our neighbours start to implement policies to encourage the use of EVs, Malaysia seems to be lagging. Proton announced that it would only be launching its first EV model by 2027 which sounds like a long way to go and the country’s awareness of EVs today is still low.

That said, Proton could have a head start in the EV game as it developed a few electric prototypes a decade ago and even demonstrated them to the Malaysian media as well as in an EV challenge in the UK.

Also read: Forget 2027, Proton once toyed with EVs all the way back in 2010 with the Exora REEV and Saga EV

The electric Saga, Exora REEV, and Persona REEV no longer exist today, having been sold off at an auction in 2020 and were likely turned into spares but they once showed the world that an EV built in Malaysia was possible. Except that there was a “National Electric Car Project” much earlier in the 1990s and history seems to have forgotten about it.

Also read: Proton EVs for sale - including Proton EMAS and Saga EV!

The start of an electric vision

The electric Protons competing in the Future Car Challenge were jointly developed with Frazer-Nash Research Ltd (FNR). Based in the UK, the company was owned by Kamal Siddiqi, a UK-based Indian businessman and an acquaintance of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

That partnership was forged way back in the 1990s when Tun M was running high on various ambitious projects following his “Vision 2020” ideal of turning Malaysia into a self-sufficient industrialised nation by that year. It has since aged like milk.

In the 1990s, optimism was certainly high and Malaysia’s economic growth was at a steady pace. Leading the industrialization of Malaysia was its automotive projects and following the launch of Proton, the country would see another national carmaker (Perodua), a national motorbike manufacturer (Modenas), a national truck (HICOM Perkasa), and a national van (Inokom Permas).

However, these national projects were not enough as there was one untapped segment if Malaysia wants to really prove itself. The EV market in the 90s was still in its infancy, and despite the poor range and equally poor battery technology, they were seen as the future.

Still, most electric cars back then were mainly confined to buggies or golf carts which was what the FNR Solar Baby was. First shown to the public here in 1994, the weirdly named buggy was initially planned to be built and sold by Fima Corporation Bhd and it was expected to cost between RM 15,000 and RM 18,000 (~RM 28k-33k in 2022).

The Solar Baby was powered by four 2.3 kW DC motors on all wheels with a maximum range of 120 km and a top speed of 70 km/h. The buggy was charged by lead-acid batteries that took 6 hours to completely fill up and there were solar panels located on the roof which connected the batteries, adding 10-15 km of range.

Electric poetry in motion

Following that announcement, things went quiet for a bit for the Solar Baby until November 1996 when Perusahaan Otomobil Elektrik (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (POEM) was established. It was a joint venture between Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), FNR, and a few other companies including Fima which first introduced the EV.

Also read: Thailand’s TNB offers cheaper electricity tariffs to encourage more EV users in the Kingdom

Reportedly, FNR first approached TNB to demonstrate its lineup of EVs and the technology it could produce. The national energy producer was keen to expand beyond just offering electricity and agreed upon the establishment of POEM with a 40% stake in the company.

Then in June 1997, POEM was officially announced to the public with a launch set for December that year. Its first model would be the Solar Baby but as it turns out, it would be given a less funny-sounding name (to non-Tamil speakers) – Eleksuria.

Malaysia’s first locally-produced EV was launched at the 1997 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) and the first batch of 10 units on display was reportedly built in only 6 months. POEM planned to produce 500 units of the Eleksuria buggies annually and was also looking to introduce other EVs in the future.

The Eleksuria’s price went up from the initial estimation of at least RM 15,000 to RM 28,000 (~RM 47k in 2022) to finally, RM 40,000 (~RM 66k in 2022) on its launch. It’s a tad bit expensive for what's essentially a golf buggy with hub caps from an Iswara and that might be why it was only sold for commercial businesses.

There were reportedly 4 variants which were the base Eleksuria, the Golf Buggy, the Airport Buggy, and the Harrods Buggy. The latter was sold exclusively at Harrods with the British retailer reportedly placing an initial order for 100 units worth RM 26 million.

Also read: To convince the public to switch to EVs, forget Klang Valley, make Langkawi EV-only zone

Besides being sold at one of the most famous high-end department stores in the world, the Eleksuria’s presence on the international scene also saw it being used at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It might be a proud achievement, but some Aussies wish you would forget about it.

Cloudy with a chance of failure

In a bit to promote the “clean, green Games”, FNR would be an official sponsor and provided around 350 electric and solar-powered vehicles for the Sydney Olympics via its Australian subsidiary, Frazer-Nash Australia (FNA). The EVs worked perfectly fine during the Games and were widely praised but things took a completely bad turn once the athletes left Sydney.

Also read: Have you been to Malaysia’s National Automobile Museum? It’s really small

With the Games over, the organisers decided to sell the Eleksurias and other FNR EVs to the public but according to a 2002 report by the Sydney Morning Herald, these buggies proved to be unreliable and were prone to breakdowns. To make matters worse, FNA couldn’t repair them as they had been cut off by FNR in the UK.

Also read: Cheap EVs for less than RM 100k? Here are the top-5 models

Its Australian subsidiary had incurred a massive amount of debt which led to furious owners calling in only to see that they have been left in the dark. With all the Eleksurias deemed inoperable, the once-promising EVs had left a sour impression on their owners.

The outlook for POEM didn’t look promising in Malaysia too as the Eleksuria had fallen into obscurity almost immediately. Even though 3,000 units were reportedly built, the POEM Eleksuria was considered the biggest flop out of Tun M’s national vehicle projects.

Also read: t’s time to stop using the term national cars to describe Proton and Perodua

POEM was also getting losses on every single unit of the Eleksuria sold with reports stating that it cost RM 65,000 to produce one unit even though its starting retail price was RM 40,000. Malaysia was also reeling from a recession when the Eleksuria was launched which saw few companies taking the risk on an electric buggy with a seemingly unknown foreign partner.

High risk, no rewards

The Eleksuria was given an update in 1998 with a more conventional design but it was already too late as POEM’s stakeholders slowly pulled out from the project one by one. TNB would eventually sell off its majority share in POEM to FNR in 2000 but the British EV developer was itself drowning in debt. After that, the National Electric Car Project was no more.

Also read: Will TNB be the next Petronas? First EV charging hub in Malaysia expected by 2023

Even though TNB still lists POEM as one of its associates/investment companies on its website, the energy supplier has stayed clear from throwing its ring into EV manufacturing. The Eleksuria is nothing more than a forgotten and controversial footnote in Malaysia’s automotive history but for FNR, the jig isn’t up yet.

Also read: TNB is ready for EVs but consumers are not - Only 20% utilization for EV chargers

FNR would partner with Proton in yet another stalled EV promise with a Malaysian company in the late 2000s and the name would surface once more following the winding up of its parent company, Kamkorp. In the latter, it might seem that Tun M still has faith in the company and its embroiled owner with what might be a custom conversion project that involved his ‘Accordana’.

Also read: How did Tun M’s Proton Perdana ended up gathering dust in the UK?

Aside from its launch, the POEM Eleksuria has received little coverage by the local media, even for an ambitious-sounding "national" project. Much of it has been scrubbed off history and very few knew of its existence. Part of its failure was due to the recession following the Asian Financial Crisis but another might be due to the questionable partner in FNR.

Also read: Proton Putra WRC - The Malaysian rally prince with lots of potential

Still, could the Eleksuria even be a success in Malaysia or is it just some whimsical passion project that will never bear fruit?