It’s 2009 and as promised, Perodua is introducing another significant model two years after the Viva. The product plan to launch a significant new model every two years was set early in the decade when Perodua and Daihatsu strengthened their relationship and began to plan for greater involvement by Malaysians in the development of new models, with the Myvi being the first one.
This time round, the new model is not a Myvi 'sedan’, as many had expected, but a small MPV on an extended Myvi platform. That Perodua chose not to go for a sedan even though many Malaysians prefer sedans suggests that the company sees the MPV segment as a growing one. In 2008, of the 548,100 new vehicles sold, around 55,000 were MPVs, making it the second largest type of vehicle sold in Malaysia. So it was important that Perodua, as the largest carmaker in Malaysia, also offer such a model and also at an affordable price.
As before, a team of Malaysians went to Japan a few years ago to work alongside their Daihatsu counterparts, developing the Malaysian version which would have an ever greater number of parts made in Malaysia. Though it may seem that Perodua is a 'cloner’, it actually does more than just put its own badge on a Daihatsu model. A visit to the factory in Rawang, Selangor, earlier this month was eye-opening in may ways – for example, almost the entire engine is made in Malaysia and Perodua even makes aluminium cylinder heads for Proton’s CAMPRO engine. For this new model, the aim was to also add items like the catalytic converter and airbag to the locally-made list which will bring total purchase of locally-made parts by Perodua to about RM3 billion this year.
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