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2020 Perodua Cars To Include Blind-Spot Monitoring

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At their bi-annual sales performance event held in the capital city, Perodua President & CEO Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad announced that in compliance with upcoming safety standards, the Malaysian automotive heavyweight will be including blind-spot monitoring technology in the majority of its lineup, in order to ensure and maintain a full 5-star ANCAP rating for its models.

This was revealed by Dato’ Zainal without much prodding from members of the media, who were otherwise unaware of the new safety rulings. 

Dato’ Zainal also revealed that the company’s vaunted ASA (Advanced Safety Assist) active safety systems will be included in more of their cars in the near future (and all of their next-generation vehicles for certain), with the only exception to the rule being manual-transmission cars. This makes sense to us as we can’t wrap our head around the idea of a manual vehicle capable of braking & coming to a halt all on its own. Does it trigger the clutch? Who knows.

Regardless, the inclusion of blind-spot monitoring in new 2020-model year vehicles marks a huge step forwards for the motoring industry as a whole. This is not only for the protection of Perodua drivers & owners according to Dato’ Zainal, but will also stand to benefit the 600,000 motorcyclists on Malaysia’s roads. Blind spot monitoring has saved the lives and limbs of many motorcyclists in various instances where they might sit at just the right (or wrong) position as not to be seen by a driver checking their mirrors.

This is also an important move for Perodua as the company aims to protect its workforce, which according to Dato’ Zainal, the majority of which commute to and from work via motorcycle. 

Perodua Confirms “Looking Into” Myvi GT

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At a sales performance event in KL, Malaysian automotive juggernaut Perodua has finally let some air out of the bag surrounding the heavily-rumoured Myvi GT, an idea brought about by a concept car that was presented at the 2019 KLIMS as a concept car that caught the imagination of a large number of people.

Taking the question head-on, Dato Dr. Zahari Husin answered that while the KLIMS concept car was very costly to produce and will most certainly not make production, Perodua is indeed looking into the possibility of producing a ‘Myvi GT’ that is more affordable and more acceptable price-wise to Perodua’s customer base, which has lit the flame of possibility for those who hold the idea of a slightly-dearer but much more endearing version of the Perodua Myvi.

Confidential sources have reported that prior to the launch of the Perodua Myvi, the company had investigated the possibility of working with local suspension tuner and production company FTuned Racing, to deliver a drive & ride experience that is more in keeping with the tastes of Malaysian car buyers, both those keen on driving and those keen on durability. We’re made to understand that the deal fell through after a great deal of effort from both parties, due to an internal impasse that neither firm was open to negotiating on.

If Perodua picked up from where they left off with FTuned, it could result in a Myvi GT with properly competitive suspension components that would put it on par drive-wise with the PROTON Iriz. That would then raise another question regarding the chassis, and whether or not the chassis of the Myvi was developed with driver engagement in mind, or if it was merely made to be cost-, material-, and production-efficient. 

Looking beyond the obvious production speedbumps and developmental issues that will naturally crop up as Perodua moves towards making the Myvi GT a reality, we can’t help but toy with the idea a little more. The Perodua Myvi is already a very handsome and very well-designed thing, and in our review, we remarked that the Myvi lacked the positive feedback and engaging drive that the PROTON Iriz continues to win fans with. With the Myvi GT, sitting as perhaps the flagship Myvi model in the future, Perodua could win back fans and convert a few more buyers from non-national brands perhaps, all buying into the idea of a fun, sharp, reliable Malaysian hatchback.

  • 2018 Perodua Myvi GT Concept – KLIMS’18
  • 2018 Perodua Myvi GT Concept – KLIMS’18
  • 2018 Perodua Myvi GT Concept – KLIMS’18
  • 2018 Perodua Myvi GT Concept – KLIMS’18

Perodua Sets New H1 Sales Record – Up 4% Year-On-Year

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At a small media event held in the nation’s capital, Malaysian automotive heavyweight Perodua announced that it had performed splendidly over the first half of 2019, delivering the highest number of new cars yet for the manufacturer. This historic milestone was contributed to by the ‘tax holiday’ period that came about after the General Election, which served to grow the total industry volume (TIV) by some 2.4%.

Also contributing to Perodua’s successes was the arrival of the Perodua Aruz, the model’s first SUV since the ill-fated Nautica and warmly-received Kembara, which has served to breathe new light into the entry-level sub-RM100k SUV space. 

Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad, President & CEO, PERODUA

“The increase in demand for our vehicles in the first six months of 2019 has had a positive impact on the automotive ecosystem as a whole, with parts purchases amounting to RM2.7-billion during this period. Based on our forecast for the second half of the year, we expect to purchase a total of RM5.4-billion with of parts for the whole of 2019. We have reached a stage in our history where we are earnestly seeking to build our brand abroad in a sustainable manner. However, this is on a long-term scale as brands do need time to build. Our hope is to make Malaysia proud,” said Perodua President & CEO, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad.

As a result of the positive performance, Perodua will be revising its annual target – previously set at 231,000 vehicles, Perodua will now aim to sell 235,000 vehicles in 2019, marking a 4,000 unit increase over earlier estimates. 

When looking at the individual model breakdown, the Perodua Aruz looks to retain its position as Malaysia’s best-selling SUV, with 15,000 sales recorded in the first half of this year and “a few more thousand by the end of next month” according to Dato’ Zainal. The Perodua Alza at 8,000 units sold in the first-half of this year represents Perodua’s slowest-selling model, though it’s still not a number to be scoffed at. When asked, Perodua’s top-management unanimously answered that there’s been little cannibalisation between the two models, and whatever cross-shopping has occurred are perfectly within Perodua’s original estimates that they calculated prior to the release of the Aruz SUV. 

They would also not comment about a new Alza, which is heavily rumoured to come about late this year or early next year. To that end, Dato’ Zainal remained coy, but hinted that at “current capability,” the company is capable of producing “one minor model change and one full model change per year.” Based on that comment, you can extrapolate when we can expect to see the next new model from Perodua.

It isn’t all smooth sailing though – last year’s sales figures, Dato’ Zainal noted, were inflated somewhat thanks to that tax holiday we mentioned earlier. To that end, Dato’ Zainal said that they “believe that the second half of the year will not be as healthy as what was recorded last year. The momentum of the first half is likely to reduce in the second half.” 

Perodua forecasts internally that Malaysia’s total industry volume for 2019 will remain at 600,000 units, though the Malaysian Automotive Association’s official numbers have yet to be released. 

PROTON X50 Coming August 2020? – Report

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While PROTON runs on a high with a whopping 61% increase in sales in the first half of this year, Malaysians are keeping their eye on the horizon. The ‘X50’ is set to be the next SUV model from the marque, offering all of the appeal of the larger X70 with a more approachable pricetag. The X50 will be based on the Geely Bin Yue, a car that has been spotted testing on local roads several times already by eagle-eyed spotters.

An article on The Malaysian Reserve, citing an insider source, says that the company is indeed in the process of getting the X50 out to market, but it’ll take a little bit more time than for the X70. For the larger car, the first phase (which is still ongoing) saw the full importation of the car from China, where it’s built in right-hand drive alongside its left-hook brethren. This made the most sense at the time of the investiture agreement between Zhejiang Geely and PROTON Holdings as one of the clauses was that PROTON had to produce a Geely-based model, on sale, within one calendar year.

Also considering the sheer volume the base Geely Boyue enjoys in its home market, it wouldn’t have come at considerable cost to them to tool it for RHD. Furthermore, the Malaysian government had agreed to give PROTON a special tax allowance for the CBU X70, as to permit a faster turnaround time and competitive pricing.

However, the X50 will employ a different route. With the upgrading works at PROTON’s Tanjung Malim plant on schedule, the X50 will be a fully-CKD model, assembled here in Malaysia. That move will purportedly save PROTON & Geely some RM200-million in required changes to the plant in China to produce the X50 in RHD, and by tooling Tanjung Malim to produce the car in such a configuration, would also allow PROTON to engage in export activities to the right-hand drive markets that they compete in.

It is speculated that the X50 will carry a pricetag between RM70k-RM85k, which would make it a very attractive proposition indeed, particularly considering that the (larger & more utilitarian) Perodua Aruz tops out at RM78k.

It’s clear that the gentlemen’s agreement between Malaysia’s two local automakers, who now sit as the 1st and 2nd best-selling marques on local shores, is turning out well. There will always be a Perodua for those looking for no-nonsense zero-hassle motoring, and a PROTON for those keen on more sophistication, dynamics, and luxury.

2019 GEELY BIN YUE SPORT – GALLERY