Perodua unveils EV with fastback design, slated for Q4 launch, confirms battery leasing and phased mass rollout
KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Perodua today unveiled the latest update in its EV journey. For Malaysia Autoshow 2025, the national automaker has brought forward the latest prototype which President and CEO, Zainal Abidin Ahmad said that very close to the production version.
Perodua EV is on schedule for Q4 release
He also revealed that Perodua EV is currently in the final stage of homologation and pilot production is expected to take place within September to October. The company is confident that the EV will be ready to be launched by the end of 2025.
The specs for now are generally the same as per what Perodua has revealed before. This includes battery from CATL with 50kWh-ish of capacity, 400km range, and 0-100km/h timing of under 7 seconds.
It has also been mentioned that the EV takes around 8 hours to be fully charged via AC charging. As for DC charging, 30 minutes are enough to get the battery to go from 30 per cent to 80 per cent.
Zainal did add that the upcoming Perodua EV can hit a top speed of 165km/h while it will also feature ADAS L2 capability and is designed to meet the 5-star A-NCAP classification . He also said that the EV features a fastback design that is skewed towards the lower B-segment.
Perodua EV battery leasing is a go
Zainal Abidin has also confirmed that the Perodua EV will indeed be offered through a battery leasing service. This will allow the company to offer the new EV for under RM80,000.
Customers can also purchase the car by cash or bank loan and then sign up for the battery leasing separately. They can also choose to purchase both the EV and the battery outright although details regarding the purchase and leasing arrangements are still under discussion.
Zainal Abidin has also confirmed that the Perodua EV will indeed be offered through a battery leasing service. — SoyaCincau pic
However, the company will not be implementing battery swapping service at this juncture. That being said, Zainal pointed out that customers can have the high-voltage battery within the Perodua EV changed in just 30 minutes at the service centre if there is any issue with it.
Zainal also pointed out that customers who purchase the battery outright have to pay for a new replacement battery themselves once the 8-year warranty is over, if needed. On the other hand, customers who signed for the leasing service will get the battery replacement for free as long as they retain the subscription.
Perodua EV will be a mass production model
Another interesting bits of information that Zainal has also revealed at Malaysia Autoshow today that Perodua has decided to turn the EV into a mass production model instead of its initial plan to produce it as a small-scale release.
That being said, the initial production will still be quite low at 500 units per month but the company is planning to ramp it up – as many as 2,000 units per month. — SoyaCincau
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