Perodua Nexis

Perodua Nexis rendered again – is the rebadged Toyota Yaris Cross or premium Ativa coming soon?

In Local News, Perodua / By Mick Chan / 4 August 2025 3:01 pm / 13 comments

The Toyota Yaris Cross has re-emerged last week with a five-star ASEAN NCAP rating, two years on from its debut in Indonesia. The model’s ASEAN NCAP test report states the model as coming to Malaysia, which brings the chance that Perodua’s version would emerge, too. Here’s what it could look like.

Although the ASEAN-market Yaris Cross had its debut in 2023, Malaysian manufacturer Perodua had been rumoured to be working on a B-segment crossover even before the Yaris Cross was revealed, and this was codenamed D66B. The Traz and Nexis names were registered with MyIPO as trademarks by Perodua, with the latter likely to be the model’s eventual name.

Here, visual rendering whiz Theophilus Chin offers his latest take on the Perodua Nexis, subsequent to the rendition in 2023 based the ASEAN-market B-segment crossover. This iteration adapts the front fascia from the 2023 rendition, though while the sides of the front bumper gets the LED DRLs from the current Myvi facelift, the latest version shows an adaptation of the fog lamp inserts from the Yaris Cross itself.

Click to enlarge

At the rear, Theo’s latest Nexis rendition trades the tail lamp assemblies of the Yaris Cross for a full-width assembly that appears to be taken from the 2023 rendition, along with the tailgate and rear bumper design as well. In terms of wheels, the latest Nexis rendition here uses those from the Yaris Cross. As for its interior, the Nexis cabin is imagined to be carried over from the Yaris Cross, save for a Perodua logo on the driver’s airbag housing.

In terms of key mechanical components, the Yaris Cross in Indonesia gets a 2NR-VE 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine producing 106 PS and 138 Nm, driving the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or a CVT. In Thailand, this model is hybrid-only, packing a 2NR-VEX 1.5 litre NA four-cylinder engine that makes 91 PS and 121 Nm, and combines with a 80 PS/141 Nm electric motor for a combined output of 111 PS.

News of developments on the Perodua D66B front went cold from around February last year when Kenanga Research stated that the B-segment SUV was to launch in April 2024. The national carmaker has since turned to its EV efforts, though with the emergence of the Yaris Cross in the aforementioned ASEAN NCAP test results – with Malaysia mentioned – the Perodua Nexis could surface soon. What do you think?

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Toyota Yaris Cross receives 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating – Perodua Nexis D66B coming?

In Cars, International News, Toyota / By Jonathan Lee / 1 August 2025 8:40 pm / 21 comments

The ASEAN Toyota Yaris Cross has had something of a quiet existence since it was revealed back in 2023, but more than two years later, it has finally been crash tested by ASEAN NCAP. The B-segment SUV has received a solid five-star rating in Indonesian-spec guise, matching rivals like the Nissan Kicks, Mitsubishi Xforce, Chery Omoda 5 and GAC GS3 Emzoom.

Breaking the results down, the Yaris Cross scored 29.28 points out of 32 in adult occupant protection (AOP), 44.17 points out of 51 for child occupant protection (COP), 17.74 points out of 21 for safety assists and 9.76 points out of 16 for motorcycle safety; the overall score was 83.02%. The car is being tested under the 2021-2025 assessment protocol, its final year before new regulations begin next year.

Helping the Yaris Cross ace the test is the fact that it comes with six airbags and stability control as standard. The Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assists, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring and auto high beam, are fitted to higher trim levels.

Interestingly, the Yaris Cross is also listed as being made in Malaysia for the Malaysian market. That’s obviously not the case right now, given that UMW Toyota Motor does not sell the car here, so it may just be an error on ASEAN NCAP’s part.

But could it be that the Malaysian-based agency’s renewed interest in the Yaris Cross (after all, it had every chance to test the car over the past two years) be indicative of some movement on the local front? Remember that Perodua had been rumoured to be working on a B-segment crossover, said to be codenamed D66B, for years – even before the Yaris Cross was revealed.

Perodua even went so far as to trademark the names Traz and Nexis, almost certainly for this new model. But the trail suddenly went cold around last year, and we can assume this was because the national carmaker had to quickly pivot towards building its own electric vehicle in house. Now that it’s at the tail end of development (the car is set to be launched at the end of the year), could we see this project being restarted? We’ll be looking forward to it surfacing sometime next year.

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Perodua Nexis rendered based on Toyota Yaris Cross – DNGA-based D66B to rival B-segment Proton X50?

In Cars, Local News, Perodua / By Gerard Lye / 19 June 2023 12:04 pm / 36 comments

Here’s another set of renders of the Perodua D66B, which is rumoured to be the carmaker’s upcoming B-segment SUV that will sit above the Ativa in the line-up. Also referred to as the Nexis if we refer to one of the trademarks that Perodua registered last year, the possibility of the D66B being introduced was made even more plausible following the launch of the Toyota Yaris Cross in Indonesia last week.

The B-segment SUV is the base vehicle used by rendering wiz Theophilus Chin, to which he grafted on the front end from a Myvi with familiar vertical LED DRLs, while the rear is adapted from his previous D66B rendering with full-width taillights. Elsewhere, the grille and lower intake are reshaped to suit the “X-shaped” face, and the exterior gets ‘Nexis’ badging, new wheels and several colourways.

The Yaris Cross is built on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA), which is also used by the latest Vios as well as the Ativa and Axia here. In Indonesia, the Yaris Cross is offered with a 2NR-VE 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine that makes 106 PS (105 hp or 78 kW) and 138 Nm of torque, mated to either a five-speed manual or CVT driving the front wheels.

It is also available with a hybrid system that consists of a 2NR-VEX 1.5 litre NA four-cylinder with 91 PS (90 hp or 67 kW) and 121 Nm. This setup is automatic-only and includes an electric traction motor that is rated at 80 PS (79 hp or 59 kW) and 141 Nm, which is powered by a lithium-ion battery.

The Yaris Cross measures 4,310 mm long, 1,770 mm wide, 1,615 mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,620 mm. This places Toyota’s SUV in the ballpark of the current Honda HR-V that is 4,330-4,385 mm long, 1,790 mm wide, 1,590 mm tall and with a wheelbase of 2,610 mm.

Another model on our shores that the D66B competes against, if it were to be launched, is the Proton X50, which is 4,330 mm long, 1,800 mm wide, 1,609 mm and with a wheelbase of 2,600 mm. Both the Honda and Proton SUVs are offered with turbocharged engines, although the former is also available with a pure NA and hybrid option.

2023 Toyota Yaris Cross

Given its supposed positioning in the Perodua line-up, the D66B/Nexis is projected to start from at least RM73,000, which would undercut the X50 that is from RM86,300 – the Ativa starts from RM62,500 and goes up to RM72,600 (not accounting for the fancier colour options).

For further context, the Indonesian Yaris Cross is offered in three variants priced from 351 million to 407.7 million rupiah (about RM107.9k to RM125k). The top-spec S HV Type sold there gets LED headlamps, a nine-inch Display Audio system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, an electronic parking brake (with auto brake hold) and Toyota Safety Sense (AEB, LDW, LDP, ACC, LKC, Front Departure Alert and Automatic High Beam).

Should the D66B become a reality for our market, how much do you think it will be priced at? Do you think the Nexis name will be used? What do you think of Theo’s renders? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

2021 PROTON X50 T PREMIUM 1.5 AT

From RM 710 a month

RM 64,800

2022 PROTON X50 T PREMIUM 1.5 AT

From RM 754 a month

RM 68,800

2021 PROTON X50 T PREMIUM 1.5 AT

From RM 710 a month

RM 64,800

2022 PROTON X50 T EXECUTIVE 1.5 AT

From RM 699 a month

RM 63,800

2021 PROTON X50 TGDI FLAGSHIP 1.5 AT

From RM 787 a month

RM 71,800

2023 Toyota Yaris Cross

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Perodua Nexis – new D66B DNGA B-segment SUV?

In Cars, Perodua / By Paul Tan / 2 October 2022 4:57 pm / 43 comments

Perodua Nexis rendering from @idiyaz.cg Instagram / Behance

Malaysians are in general a car-crazed lot and we also love our Protons and Peroduas. Now that the 2022 Perodua Alza and Ativa Hybrid has been launched, people are eager to look forward to what’s next.

It looks like their targets are set on a possible B-segment SUV larger than the Perodua Ativa that is currently being called the “Perodua Nexis”.

What are these Perodua Nexis photos that have gone viral?

The source of the hype is a set of renderings by computer graphics renderer Idiyaz Baharuddin, who rendered a set of photos of what a future Perodua B-segment SUV could look like.

He gave it the Perodua Nexis name as it is one of the trademarks that Perodua registered in April 2022. The other trademark registered alongside the Perodua Nexis was Perodua Traz.

Is Perodua planning a B-segment SUV?

Word is that yes, Perodua is planning an SUV larger than the Perodua Ativa and at the moment it is given the codename Perodua D66B.

It will be built on the DNGA-B platform, which also underpins the 2023 Toyota Vios, 2022 Perodua Alza and 2022 Toyota Veloz.

Is the Perodua Nexis a confirmed name for the D66B?

The Nexis is not a confirmed name, it is the name that was chosen by the computer graphics artist for the renderings that went viral.

Perodua has trademarked various other names that it has not used yet such as Perodua Traz, Perodua Eliana and Perodua Atrivia.

Even so, the name of the new Perodua SUV could be none of these previously trademarked names and instead a future name that has not been trademarked yet.

What Daihatsu or Toyota model will the Perodua D66B be based on?

There are currently no B-segment SUVs based on DNGA launched in any market yet.

The following are some B-segment SUV models that Toyota are selling. Could any of them end up becoming a Perodua?

1) Toyota Yaris Cross

This is the Toyota Yaris Cross, which recently won the 2022 World Urban Car of the Year award. It is pretty good looking and it looks like the rendered Perodua Nexis takes some inspiration from it.

However, this is an expensive “first world” Euro/Japan market model that is based on TNGA-B instead of DNGA-B, so it is not likely to become a Perodua.

If you really like this, we have seen recond units on Mudah for RM139k.

2) Toyota Urban Cruiser HyRyder

This is B-segment SUV sold in India, which implies it could be cost effective enough to be sold as a Perodua, but it is neither based on DNGA-B or TNGA-B.

Instead, this is a product for the Indian market based on a JV with Suzuki, sharing a platform with the Suzuki Grand Vitara.

Neither of the two products above seem like they could form the base for a future Perodua B-segment SUV.

Will Perodua take the lead on the DNGA B-SUV project?

Perodua D66B Rendering by Theophilus Chin

Since there is no DNGA-B SUV in existence yet, could Perodua be taking the lead on the development? After all, it did so with the Myvi and the Bezza. That could be one possibility.

The other could just be that a future DNGA-B Yaris Cross simply hasn’t been revealed yet. This Yaris Cross will only share a name with the European TNGA-B Yaris Cross but be built on DNGA-B instead, and be part of the Yaris hatch and Yaris Ativ (Vios) sedan family in Thailand, and eventually a Perodua in Malaysia.

Would you be in the market for a Perodua SUV larger than the Ativa?

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Perodua files Traz and Nexis trademarks with MyIPO

In Cars, Local News, Perodua / By Anthony Lim / 18 May 2022 4:00 pm / 13 comments

Perodua has filed a couple of trademarks with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), registering the Traz and Nexis names at the end of last month. Both were filed under class 12 and class 37, encompassing categories that are car-related.

The listings, which were unearthed by Facebook user Vanhoe Rage, who posted on both filings last week, suggest that the national automaker is placing names in the basket for a new model, like it did previously with the Axia back in 2014.

The names don’t really follow typical Perodua naming convention, but is very much in line with that carried out in 2014, when it registered the Eliana and Atrivia names subsequent to a trademark filing for the Axia – it could well be that both new monikers are options under consideration, but whether they see the light of day on a vehicle is another thing altogether.

Plenty of options for the conjecture – if the upcoming D27A retains the Alza nameplate in its second iteration, then there’s nothing else on the horizon this year that would require a new name. That’s because the automaker already intimated in January that 2022 would see the introduction of an all-new model (the D27A) and two facelifts, which we’ve speculated is likely to involve the Aruz and Axia.

Further afield, there has long been talk of the brand coming up with a B-segment SUV sized larger than the Daihatsu Rocky-based Ativa, so a new name would be needed for that, although that isn’t expected to appear on the horizon this year.

Interestingly, the MyIPO listings also reveal trademarks filed under Daihatsu Motor for e-Smart, e-Smart Hybrid and e-Smart Technology, and P2 started testing a Rocky e-Smart Hybrid in the country late last year. However, given how the company works, the eventual model, should it appear for our market, is likely to carry the Hybrid suffix and retain the Ativa nameplate.

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