Perodua is set to introduce a new model in 2014 which, when it arrives, will be the cheapest new car available in the local market. This announcement was made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak over the weekend at a Perodua event, Bernama reports.
The PM added that the second national car company has invested RM1.3 billion to build a new factory which will produce the new model. The new 65,000 sq ft manufacturing plant, which will be located adjacent to the automaker’s existing factory in Sungai Choh, north of Rawang, will be operational by next October.
The new plant will be able to add 100,000 units to Perodua’s annual production capacity. Najib stated that he’s hoping for market expansion beyond local shores. “I hope the factory will help Perodua export more cars, especially to neighbouring countries. Currently, Perodua exports 10,000 units a year and I hope the figure can be increased further,” he said.
No mention was made to the identity of the model, but as previously reported, the expected A-segment, five-seater hatchback is something that’ll take Perodua back to its ’90s Kancil roots – the entry-level vehicle will be the replacement for the Viva, and targeted very much at low income households.
Candidate donor models will be a toss-up between the Daihatsu Mira e:S and its derivative, the Daihatsu Ayla. The Ayla – and its sibling, the Toyota Agya – debuted at the Indonesian International Motor Show last year. For the Indonesian market, the five-door hatch sports a D26F-1KR-DE 1.0 litre three-cylinder mill, mated to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed auto.
In its most base form, pricing of the Ayla as bandied about at point of launch was around RM23,000 (Rp 75 million), but the variant omits a whole lot of kit from the equation.
Production of the car was planned to begin last December, and the Ayla was supposed to have begun selling in the republic this year, but until May, sales of it as well as that of the Agya had not begun. The delay was brought about by the wait for the Indonesian government to announce support measures and output incentives for green cars.
The Ayla is of course based on the Daihatsu Mira e:S, which premiered in Japan in 2011. In its domestic market, the minicar is powered by a KF transverse three-cylinder 658 cc lump with 52 PS at 6,800 rpm and 60 Nm at 5,200 rpm, paired to a CVT transmission.
So, which do you think the new Perodua Viva replacement will shape up closer to – the Mira e:S or the Ayla?
