MALAYSIAN car maker Proton is planning to strike gold courtesy of a trio of concept cars.

The threesome, named EMAS, EMAS Country and EMAS3, signal Proton's long-term international expansion plan.

EMAS, which actually means gold in the Malay language, stands for Eco Mobility Advance Solution and is the result of a joint collaboration between Proton, its subsidiary Lotus, and Italian design house Italdesign Giugiaro.

The EMAS series is a family of compact yet spacious, low environmental-impact cars that Proton hopes will revolutionise the traditional car market.

The range comprises of the basic EMAS - a five-door, four-seat hatchback designed for comfort; EMAS Country - a three-door, five-seater hatchback aimed at rural driving; plus the EMAS3 three-door 3+1 plus-seater, for city driving.

The cars are powered by a serial hybrid plug-in drive system developed by Lotus Engineering, which includes a 3-cylinder 1.2 litre internal combustion engine producing 51bhp. The engines can run on petrol, ethanol, methanol or natural gas.