Perodua’s first electric vehicle, which will be developed as an “affordable” model potentially priced under the RM100k mark, will enter mass production by the end of 2025, Ministry of International Trade and Industry YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Bin Tengku Abdul Aziz revealed on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.
According to the minister, the local carmaker has already developed a prototype model in collaboration with an “international automotive company”, following the appointment of Perodua to spearhead the development of EVs in Malaysia under the National Industry Master Plan 2030 (NIMP2030) sometime last year.
The minister stopped short of mentioning Perodua’s partner, although the presentation slide present in the background – which states the undisclosed company’s North American market leadership, number four global market position, and 344 manufacturing facilities, among others – could hint at a third party in addition to Daihatsu.
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The “affordable” Perodua EV has been in the works for several years now, with the company unveiling its first scale model concept vehicle, dubbed the eM-O, at the Malaysian Auto Show last year. Perodua president and CEO, Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, previously also confirmed that it is working with several partners to locally manufacture EVs “in the near future”.
Tengku Zafrul said in November last year that the government is targetting for electrified vehicles to make up 20% of new car sales in Malaysia by 2030 – a target which the Perodua boss has said “will materialise if all the parties cooperate”.
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