Well, technically you can, just not in the conventional sense. Perodua president and CEO Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad has just confirmed that the 2022 Perodua Ativa hybrid will be available to Malaysians only through a leasing programme.

The leasing programme is a feasibility study conducted by Perodua to gauge Malaysian users’ real-world use case and acceptability of hybrid vehicles.

Only 300 units of the Ativa hybrid will be made available to the public and are all fully imported (CBU) from Japan. These CBU units are essentially the Daihatsu Rocky hybrid with the Perodua emblem plastered on.

Mechanically, it gets a 1.2-litre e-Smart hybrid system that is good for 106 PS and 170 Nm of torque. The 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine works as a generator for the electric motor that drives the front wheels – making it a full series hybrid system.

Daihatsu claims best-in-class fuel consumption of 28 km/L (3.57L/100 km) for the Rocky hybrid based on the WLTC (World harmonised Light vehicle Test Cycles). As a comparison, the 1.0-litre turbo Rocky has a WLTC fuel consumption of 18.6 km/L (5.37L/100 km).

The Ativa hybrid will only be offered to Perodua customers in Klang Valley, Penang, and Johor by invitation only. Priority will be given to those who are waiting for the delivery of their Ativa turbo.

Why only 3 cities? Dato’ Sri Zainal explained that Perodua intends to collect data from high-traffic cities. Not only for long-distance travel but also in stop-go traffic.

Lucky invitees will be notified via an SMS, gauging their interest to participate in this programme. Should they accept the offer, they will be taking delivery of the Ativa hybrid.

As for the leasing mechanism, customers will be tied to a 5-year plan with a mileage cap of 100,000 km over the 5-years. An upfront payment of RM2,150 is required with a monthly repayment of RM500.

It will be an all-inclusive plan covering road tax, insurance, and servicing costs. Owners will only be required to fork out for wear and tear as well as fuel costs.

However, as part of the leasing agreement, prospective owners will be required to consent to have an onboard vehicle telematics system in their Ativa hybrid. Tracking speed, location, run-time, downtime as well as acceleration and braking characteristic – a common practice in vehicle leasing programmes.

Deliveries are expected to commence in Q4 of 2022. Our question to you dear reader, would you be interested in leasing a Perodua Ativa hybrid or a Perodua in general? Could you accept paying for a car that you don’t own? Sound off in the comments section.