Perodua: Readiness of local suppliers crucial for electrification; hybrid as stepping stone to EV

At a media conference held by Perodua earlier today, the company announced the initiation of a new project called xEV take-off as part of the key activities for 2023.

xEV is Perodua’s term for electrified vehicles, including hybrids (HEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV).

While specifics on the time frame of the xEV’s introduction were not mentioned, Perodua president and CEO Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad said that the preparation stage starts from the local automotive parts vendors.

Also read: Perodua: 220k backlog orders remain, some outstanding Axia orders will be converted to D74A

“If, let’s say, we introduce an electric vehicle (EV), we must make sure localisation will happen,” said Dato’ Sri Zainal. He added that one of the three main components of an EV – which are the high-voltage battery, inverter, and electric motor – has to be localised “because we are Perodua and we want to develop the local industry.”

Out of the three, he said that the battery would be best for Perodua to localise due to packaging limitation if the company were to opt for a conversion model (converting from combustion engine model to fully electric).

Also read: Perodua: Record high sales for 2022 but economic headwinds in 2023 could erase gains made

Dato’ Sri Zainal highlighted that the aim for this year is to bring in vendors with the capability to produce EV-related components to facilitate the planning of EV models. He added that space management in the manufacturing facility to accommodate the production of EVs is also part of the preparation.

As seen in one of the presentation slides, HEV is projected to begin production in 2024 while BEV would start sometime in 2029. Meanwhile, volume internal combustion engine (ICE) models will decline as HEVs are introduced, serving as an intermediate between ICE and BEV.

Also read: Perodua to launch its first hybrid in 2024, new variant for Ativa facelift?

After 2030, Perodua projects that BEVs will become mainstream, which suggests that partnerships with some vendors will have to be discontinued unless they switch to produce EV-related components.

This highlights the importance of HEVs as a stepping stone to BEVs as some components can be shared. As for the first Perodua HEV and contrary to our earlier speculation, we were told that it will be an all-new model instead of the Ativa Hybrid.

Further details were not divulged. But as usual, stay tuned to WapCar.my as we bring you latest updates on the Perodua HEV/EV.

Also read: Close to half of Malaysia's TIV - Perodua targets 314k unit sales and 44.5% market share for 2023