Perodua CEO drops hint of Perodua Ativa Hybrid, affordable battery EVs under study with TNB

Perodua should collaborate with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to introduce high quality, affordable electric vehicles (EVs) for the masses, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob at this morning’s launch of the all-new 2022 Perodua Alza.

“Tenaga Nasional Berhad is working to increase electricity generated from clean energy sources, as well as deploying enough EV charging stations. At the same time, Perodua can use this opportunity by exploring new fields such as producing high-quality EVs that [Malaysians] can afford.

“Both parties can work together to introduce affordable charging rates that can be subscribed by all.

“In fact, telecommunication companies like Telekom Malaysia can also work with these two parties to provide data package that will enable users to book EV charging sessions online,” said Ismail Sabri, adding that smart partnerships like this must be done quickly to overcome the effects of climate change.

Also read: D27A 2022 Perodua Alza launched in Malaysia, RM 62.5k to RM 75.5k, 1.5L with D-CVT

In response, Perodua President and CEO Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad said, “Our intention is mobility for everybody. Regarding the speech by the Prime Minister regarding carbon neutrality, it is (EVs) now in our plans, and we will make an announcement once the final feasibility study regarding partnerships between Perodua and other companies is complete. We hope we can be among the companies working together to meet the government’s target to be carbon neutral by 2050.”

As for the timeline, Dato’ Zainal said the company’s immediate priority for this year is to clear its backlog of over 200,000 orders, adding that the feasibility is still on-going.

“Before we produce electric vehicles, we need to understand what the Malaysian public’s perception and lifestyle is. Without understanding, customers may have to change their lifestyle, because of charging stations, because of range of the vehicle, then it will not be successful. We are doing a lot of market surveys.

“Before electric, we are also going to do hybrids to make sure that customers is comfortable, and understand that somehow or rather, if you use electric vehicles, you may have to change your driving (pattern) and lifestyle,” he said.

The CEO also ruled out plug-in hybrids (PHEV).

“If we were to do a hybrid, it will be like a series hybrid,” said Dato’ Zainal.

It is an open secret that Perodua will introduce a series-hybrid version of the Perodua Ativa, seeing that its donor car the Daihatsu Rocky is already available in Japan with a series-type e-Smart Hybrid drivetrain.

A series-hybrid is a simpler, cheaper version of parallel / series-parallel hybrids used by Honda and Toyota.

A series-hybrid is still a full-hybrid, meaning that it can be accelerate from standstill in electric power alone, but unlike a series-parallel full-hybrid used in a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, the engine doesn’t drive the wheels.

Also read: Spied: Daihatsu Rocky e:Smart spotted again, hints at possible Ativa Hybrid?

Instead, the small engine works only as a generator to charge the high voltage battery. This way, the engine spins at a fixed engine speed, thus running at its most efficient range all the time.

The Daihatsu Rocky e-Smart Hybrid uses a 1.2-litre 3-cylinder (WA-VEX) engine but as mentioned, the engine doesn’t drive the car, and is used only to charge the 4.3 Ah battery located behind.

Claimed fuel efficiency is a ridiculously low 3.6-litre/100 km (WLTC test cycle).