Taxis in Malaysia are now being given a second life (again), thanks to the newly introduced Teksi Madani Nasional renewed taxi programme announced by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim last week.
At the heart of this event was the unveiling of the new Proton S70 taxi, which features a series of changes and improvements that will be implemented to future taxis under this new scheme.
New Proton S70 Taxi Shown
The new S70 taxi is built upon the newly-updated 2026 Premium variant, and it doesn’t look like the typical Malaysian taxis that we are well-acquainted with.
For starters, the S70 taxi drops the roof sign for sleeker LED displays on both its front and rear windscreens, and they can display either ‘Teksi’ or ‘E-Hailing’, thus indicating that it can be used as either a taxi or an e-hailing vehicle.
Another notable change is the new red-on-white GET JPJePlate that replaces the usual black-on-white H plates used on current taxis, while the traditional red-and-white Malaysian taxi livery has been removed for a simpler Ruby Red colourway with some white floral patterns on its C-pillars.
We’ve been told that the GET licence plate stands for ‘Gabungan E-hailing dan Teksi’, and it will be exclusive to this series of new taxis.
The changes continue inside the S70 taxi, where it gets a new screen below the dashboard that functions both as a digital taximeter and a digital advertisement display—the latter can provide an additional income source for these taxi drivers.
National Taxi Scheme Reformed
Beyond the new S70 taxis, the Teksi Madani Nasional scheme brings a series of reforms to the current national taxi programme in order to further strengthen their role in the national public transport system.
Under this scheme, the era of taxi permits being given to a select few, plus the old leasing scheme, are all over, and future taxi permits will be awarded directly to taxi operators and drivers instead. This also means that drivers will be able to keep both the permits and the vehicle too.
Speaking of which, the new S70 taxi revealed at this event will be offered without excise and sales tax, thus potentially lowering its price below the RM70,000 mark to make it more affordable for taxi operators to buy.
For reference, the 2026 Proton S70 Premium retails at RM79,800 on-the-road, or RM74,800 with the special RM5,000 launch rebates included.
