Archive for Perodua

UPDATE: Perodua has launched a facelifted Perodua Myvi SE 2008 on the 10th of October 2008. Check out full details, photos and prices via the linked text.

Perodua has released a new special edition variant of the hugely successful Perodua Myvi called the Perodua Myvi Special Edition, or the Perodua Myvi SE for short. These photos are courtesy of reader Rufus King who snapped them while he was sending his Perodua in for service.

Basically, it’s a Perodua Myvi fitted with the sporty bodykit that’s found on the Perodua Myvi Sports that was showed at the KLIMS last year, also the same one as the Toyota Passo TRD bodykit, and the Daihatsu Boon X4, without the hood scoop for the Boon X4’s intercooler of course.

I would think a hood scoop would look weird with the current curve of the Perodua Myvi SE’s bonnet anyway. There’s also the odd position of the front number plate - it’s slightly to the left.

Headlamps and bonnet are the same, but we’re not here to see what’s the same as the standard issue Perodua Myvi, we want to know what’s changed! Here are the changes in point form for easy reading:

• New front bumper with new foglamp design
• New rear bumper
• New rear spoiler
• New side skirting
• Optitron meter in blue
• Twin 5-spoke alloy wheels
• Chromed muffler tip
• Leather seats (lovely!)
• Silver trim for center console

Of course, being one of the top end models in the Myvi range, the Perodua Myvi SE has the high spec Myvi’s dual SRS airbags and ABS brakes. Not sure how much the price for this 2007 Perodua Myvi Special Edition, so I’ll be heading into the showrooms tomorrow to find out… this post will be updated with new info then.

For now, more photos after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Perodua Myvi Special Edition (Myvi SE)

[ UPDATE: The Perodua Viva has been launched! Click here for full details on specifications and pricing, as well as many clear photos of both exterior and interior! ]

Perodua’s upcoming Kelisa and Kancil Replacement Model is due to be launched in the middle of this year, somewhere around June or July, replacing it’s 13-year old Kancil and 5-year old Kelisa models, reported The Edge Daily. The Perodua Kancil has been somewhat of an asset to the Malaysian automotive industry, and Malaysians themselves, allowing low-income families who use motorcycles to upgrade to a 4-wheeled vehicle due to it’s low entry price.

Rumours have been going around that the Kancil would be retained as an ultra-low end model, with the new car replacing only the Kelisa, but Perodua managing director Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar has cleared these doubts, saying Perodua will have a single model serving the 1 liter and below segment. Some specifications of the new car have been released by Perodua - the 1.0 liter Kancil Replacement Model will come in both manual and automatic transmissions, but there will also be manual-only variants in both 660cc and 850cc form. All 3 engine variants will feature electronic fuel injection and DVVT dynamic variable valve timing.

Perodua has also learned from the Perodua Myvi’s overwhelming runaway success - instead of stockpiling only 1,000 units for the launch orders which was done for the Myvi, the upcoming Perodua Kancil and Kelisa Replacement Model would have between 2,000 to 3,000 cars stockpiled to cater to demand. Production capacity will be 7,000 units monthly.

Perodua’s new Kancil and Kelisa Replacement model is expected to account for 30% of sales this year, with a remaining 40% expected to comprise of Perodua Myvi variants, and 30% for all other models. As for the new car’s name, it isn’t revealed yet, but most people have started referring to it as the Perodua Viva. Spyshots of these car have been captured since end-2005, so we’ve been waiting for this one for more than a year now.

Refer to the related posts below for a series of spyshots of the upcoming Perodua Kancil and Kelisa Replacement Model

Related Posts:
Kancil Replacement Model sighted in Mines!
Kancil Replacement Model spotted!
Kancil and Kelisa Replacements in first half 2007
Upcoming Perodua Kelisa replacement?
Could this be a Kancil Replacement Model?
New Perodua Kancil / Kelisa coming down our alley?

Source

Perodua has updated the Perodua Kelisa with something new - a Bluetooth handsfree kit integrated into the car’s entertainment system. Basically, the head unit has been updated to one with Bluetooth handsfree capabilities, and a button on the head unit activates Bluetooth. You pair your Bluetooth-capable phone with the head unit, and either keep it in your pocket or in a holder built into the car. You can then speak through an integrated microphone in the car interior, and listen to the call through the car’s entertainment system speakers. For private conversations, you can switch to a pair of retractable ear phones integrated into the center console area between the seats.

Perodua Kelisa models with this new Bluetooth handsfree kit system are: the Perodua Kelisa 1000GX, 1000GXS, 1000EZ, and 1000EZS, basically all models except for the Kelisa Imago models (the 1000GSQ and 1000EZQ).

Daihatsu Japan has updated their Daihatsu Mira with a new model and guess what… the new facelift seems to sport headlamps that look like they belong to the Myvi family! A similiar design has been spotted on the new Perodua Kancil Replacement Model that has been seen doing testing rounds lately. Look after the jump for some comparisons…

Click here to read the rest of New Daihatsu Mira launched in Japan

[ UPDATE: The Perodua Viva has been launched! Click here for full details on specifications and pricing, as well as many clear photos of both exterior and interior! ]

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen sightings of the upcoming 2007 Perodua Kancil replacement model - the last was shots of a blue one and a white one somewhere up Genting. Here are a series of 3 spyshots of the Perodua Kancil replacement model being tested in Mines, on the way to Bangi. Thanks to reader Tau. Two other photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kancil Replacement Model (Perodua Viva) sighted in Mines

Richard Hammond, or known as the Hamster should be a household name by now, thanks to him being part of BBC’s Top Gear team.

The Hamster recently took the Perodua Myvi out for a spin, and he seems to be impressed! This should be good news for Perodua, who plans to lift it’s export volume from 3,000 units currently to 10,000 units a year.

No jokes, this is a good-looking car. But if it looks familiar, that’s because this is a Daihatsu Sirion in all but name. You see it costs billions to develop a new car - you design them on computers then build lots of them to crash into walls. So Perodua let someone else do it and spent their money sticking a new badge on it.

But they kept a bit back to spend on styling. Which is why, even though it shares bits and pieces with the Sirion, the Myvi is better looking.

And his final verdict:

So under seven grand for a good-looking car, built in a factory shared with Toyota, which handles as well as a Yaris, does nearly 50mpg with a three-year warranty - yes please.

Click here for the full review.

Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is set to follow Toyota’s footsteps with TopMark and venture into the used-car business in a year’s time. Perodua Managing Director Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar says Perodua has been studying the used car market over the past one year, including observing how Japan conducts it’s second hand vehicle auction concept that is so successful that it attracts international buyers.

Syed Hafiz says in matured markets, there will be fewer and fewer first-time buyers of new cars, just like what is happening in Malaysia now. Perhaps over here it is more of the fact that first time car buyers are usually very young and have just started working, and with their meagre salaries they cannot go anywhere else but turn to the second hand car market. Perodua’s used car business will deal in both Perodua and non-Perodua makes.

As for it’s new car business, the Myvi is still doing well and Perodua will invest RM295 million to incraese capacity to 240,000 units from it’s current capacity of 205,000. Perodua also wants to lit it’s export volume to 10,000 units a year from the current 3,000 units.

Source

The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has revised it’s forecast for vehicle sales this year, lowering it to 520,000 units instead of the previous 565,000 units figure. The new forecost would mean a 6% drop from last year’s 551,042 cars sold instead of a 2.5% increase with the previous figure. It’s not just Malaysia who is facing this problem, even Philippines and Thailand had experienced dropping sales in the first half of 2006 compared to the same period last year. The Indonesian car industry took a big hit, with a 49% drop in sales volume, likely to do with the new fuel prices there.

Perodua sold 78,396 cars compared to Proton which mnaged 60,246. Perodua’s market share now stands at 42.4 percent, while Proton is at 32.6 percent. It looks like UMW is the juggernaut right now, commanding a total of 49.7 percent of passenger vehicle sales through Perodua and Toyota. Almost half! One of Proton’s Key Performance Indicators for the financial year ending March 2007 is a 46% market share, but this does not look like it’s likely to happen very soon. While the overall industry is experiencing a drop, 4WD vehicles experienced a growth by 2.2 percent. Proton does not have a 4WD vehicle for sale, while Perodua has it’s Kembara.

There also have been concerns on Proton’s stockpile of cars which are said to be piling high without enough sales to move them. Proton says that it will maintain it’s production target of 40,000 to 50,000 cars a year out of a maximum capacity of 150,000 units on double shifts. Proton director of manufacturing Datuk Kamarulzaman Darus believes that the current production volume would be justified on the continued demand for Proton cars.

Proton also says a new model is in the line-ups to be introduced next year, although the model is still in discussion stages. No details have been revealed except that it is not an SUV model. From discussion to introduction in about the time span of a year? Datuk Kamarulzaman also says Proton cannot reveal any details yet before gaining approval from partners, so this should be a joint-venture for an MPV or a large executive car considering the mention of partners and a fast time to market.

Perodua has announced that for the first time in 12 years, the demographics of Perodua buyers are 50:50 between Malays and non-Malaysia, compared to 60:40 with the majority being Malay for the past 12 years. This is primarily due to the popularity of the Perodua Myvi, which appeals to non-Malay buyers. 70-80 percent of Perodua buyers are either first time car buyers or people looking to buy a Perodua as a 2nd or 3rd car, not to replace an existing car. The remainder want to replace an existing car in the household.

Perodua Myvi orders have reached 105,000 units since May last year. Record sales for the Perodua Myvi were in May 2006 and June 2006, where Perodua sold 15,200 each month in those two months. Previously the record month was in March where Perodua sold 14,800 units.

Perodua has attributed their quick rise to success after only 13 years in business to a win-win alliance with it’s Japanese partner Daihatsu. Perodua Managing Director Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar says “Picking the right partner and picking the right way to move forward together is the key.”

The key is Perodua’s manufacturing unit. Perodua has a subsidiary called Perodua Auto Corporation Sdn Bhd which handles the operations of Perodua Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (PMSB) and Perodua Engine Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (PEMSB). Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd and Mitsui & Co own 51% of Perodua Auto Corporation. This restructuring exercise was done back in 2001, and manufacturing operations are under joint-venture partner control.

This strong strategic alliance has resulted in a win-win situation, bringing Perodua closer towards it’s goal of becoming the king of compact cars in not only Malaysia but the region. It plans to ramp up production at it’s 2 billion ringgit Rawang plant by 25% in preparation for new models and increased export. In times of rising oil prices, compact cars are gaining popularity because of the perception that they are more fuel efficient, though this is not always the case.

Perodua’s manufacturing facilities have improved through the injection of Japanese DNA in the company, like the practice of the Toyota Production System (TPS) and “jishuken” which are self-improvement activities like study groups held together with vendors. It’s vendors are audited by it’s own QRE (quality resident engineers) team. Toyota’s association with Perodua has resulted in a positive halo effect in both reputation and manufacturing processes.

In line with it’s ambitions to be the best compact car manufacturer in the region, Perodua currently has no plans to produce a sedan model although there are such rumors being passed around, but there are plans for compact cars with larger engine capacities of up to 1.5 liter engines. Perodua’s largest compact car engine capacity is currently 1.3 liters, found in the Perodua Myvi and the Perodua Kembara. The Perodua Myvi and Kembara would definitely benefit from a 1.5 liter engine as the current 1.3 liter feels underpowered to me. The engine revs have to be kept higher for sufficient power and this in turn defeats the purpose of a smaller engine so it can be more fuel efficient.