RAWANG: Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) intends to produce the Ativa hybrid model locally, said its president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad.
He said the company is finalising discussions, including production time and pricing, among other details.
"Once we finalise all those items, we will make a proper announcement at a later date.
"Rest assured, the hybrid of this Ativa model will be produced locally,” he said at a press conference, in conjunction with Japan Ambassador to Malaysia Noriyuki Shikata’s Perodua factory tour, here today.
Perodua Ativa is a compact five-seater B-segment sport utility vehicle (SUV) introduced in March 2021, marking Perodua’s first model equipped with a turbocharged engine and continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Built on the Daihatsu Rocky and Toyota Raize platforms, the vehicle is powered by a 1.0-litre turbo engine and comes with advanced safety features.
For the Ativa hybrid project, Zainal Abidin said Perodua received about 1.5 billion yen (more than RM37 million) from the Global South Fund to support Japanese hybrid technology in Malaysia.
Regarding plans to collaborate with Daihatsu on electric vehicle development, he said that the first step is to stabilise the infrastructure and charging station requirements in Malaysia.
"We still have a problem because of the few charging stations in the country,” said Zainal Abidin.
Daihatsu, a Japanese compact car company, holds a 20 per cent share in Perodua. - Bernama
