Perodua Might Make An EV With BYD Thanks To Sime Darby Connection
Will a Perodua Myv-E based on the BYD MINI Seagull be a possibility soon?
The EV revolution in Malaysia has been picking up pace. Last year, thanks to favourable taxation and new Chinese and American EV launches, over 10,000 electric vehicles were registered. This year, that number looks to get even larger as BYD has entered with the Seal, Chery launch the Omoda E5 and GWM prepares the 07 for launch. Unfortunately, all of these vehicles tackle the RM150,000 to RM200,000 price bracket, leaving the sub-RM100,000 category almost entirely neglected. This is where Perodua should be flexing their muscle, but the second national carmaker has been largely uncommitted to an EV launch.
Things might be changing though. Last year, Sime Darby announced plans to become the major shareholder of UMW Toyota and a significant shareholder of Perodua. They’ve since completed acquiring their 61.18% stake in UMW Toyota and 38% of Perodua. Given that the company also represents Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD through their Sime Darby Beyond Auto subsidiary, we could see some synergies start to develop between brands.
Open To Explore Outside Of Daihatsu
Since the 2nd national car’s inception, Daihatsu has been its technology partner. Nothing much has changed with this agreement, save for more synergies with Daihatsu’s own parent company Toyota. In Malaysia, Toyota sources some vehicles from the Rawang factory including the Rush, Veloz and the now-defunct Avanza.
The current rush for the industry to move towards all-electric mobility has left the Japanese car industry significantly behind. Once the pioneers of hybrid powertrains, carmakers like Toyota and Daihatsu have found themselves outgunned by their Chinese counterparts in the field of electric vehicles.
The question is whether Perodua will venture outside of Daihatsu and Toyota’s spheres of influence for their electric vehicle project given how far behind these brands are. We think the answer is yes. The first sign of this was when Perodua and MITI Minister Tengku Zafrul were seen discussing an electric vehicle project in Italy. We doubt the Italians were seriously Perodua’s 1st candidate for a partner. It’s more likely the post was shared to signal that Perodua were open to a new partner that wasn’t necessarily even Japanese.
Synergies Via Sime Darby
While Sime Darby Motor does not fully control Perodua, it now has some influence over management decisions and could arrange for the first “national” EV project a BYD initiative.
In the big picture, this isn’t too wild either. Toyota is publicly working with BYD in China for the bZ3 EV, so why should Perodua be prevented from working with BYD on a Mini Seagull-based Myv-e? This car is also sold in other markets as the Mini Dolphin.
About the Author
Subhash Nair Written work on dsf.my. @subhashtag on instagram. Autophiles Malaysia on Youtube.
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