Just for the record, Perodua, Malaysia’s second national car, didn’t make its electric vehicle — the QV-E — because it wanted to. It has been quite happy making and profitably selling small petrol cars like the Axia and the Myvi.

In fact, Perodua’s cars are so popular that it comprised 44% of Malaysia’s total annual sales of 814,000 cars last year.

Its top position in Malaysia’s auto market is because of a confluence of factors.

Firstly, the cars are arguably among the best small cars in the world, drawn from Daihatsu, an associate of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Perodua’s car manufacturing and assembly operations are overseen by Perodua Auto Corporation Sdn Bhd, a holding company established in 2001 that brings together Perodua Manufacturing Sdn Bhd and Perodua Engine Manufacturing Sdn Bhd.

Daihatsu and its trading partner Mitsui & Co. Ltd have a majority interest in the manufacturing arm — giving them effective quality control over production and engineering.

Practically, that means while Perodua owns the brand and handles sales and marketing locally, much of the technical,design and engineering know-how behind the cars comes from Daihatsu — and therefore ultimately, Toyota.

Although Daihatsu (and by extension Toyota) hold a significant stake and exert technical influence, Perodua is not a Toyota subsidiary. Perodua remains an independent private company with both Malaysian and Japanese shareholders.

Because of its diversified shareholding — comprising UMW, MBM, PNB, Mitsui, Daihatsu, etc. — Perodua is, from a corporate perspective, more of a government-linked company.

To cut to the quick, Perodua was in a milieu where it felt it had to make an EV to justify its national car status. Initially, Perodua’s C-suite was inclined to make an EV more for show than the money.

For context, it was understood its Japanese partners would have nothing to do with this Perodua EV project because they did not have anything much to bring to the table.

However, they understood Malaysia’s commitment to decarbonisation, which requires EVs to account for 15% of total industry volume (TIV) by 2030.

Although it discouraged Perodua from co-branding with another marque on the grounds of conflict of interest, the Japanese cleared the way for the local carmaker to make an EV by integrating components and services from the global EV supply chain.

This is easy enough — Tier 1 automotive supply chain vendors such as Bosch and Continental in Europe have the capability to design and make EVs. However, that would not have added to Malaysia’s EV knowhow.

Led by CEO Zainal Abidin Ahmad, Perodua assembled its own EV team comprising faculty members from various Malaysian universities, chassis and driveline engineers from Austria’s legendary Magna-Styer, and world-leading Chinese battery and chemical engineers from CATL.

Some 50 vendors from Malaysia including international automotive lighting and harness makers and E&E industries in Penang supply the car’s local content.

Perodua launched its EV in a week that was full of suspense due to Proton, the first national car, doing likewise. Both carmakers ended up having to negotiate their respective launch dates to enable Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to unveil their EVs.

Proton’s smaller e-Mas 5 drew appreciative comments with its sub-RM70,000 pricing.

In contrast, Perodua’s EV launch drew sharp criticism over its package, which sold the car separately from a nine‑year battery lease.

Undoubtedly more complicated than an outright purchase, Perodua simply wanted to protect its status as a maker of cars that retain strong resale values.

The battery leasing is unique because Perodua assures that it will, when necessary, provide more powerful batteries as and when these are available.

Putting aside that controversial decision, Perodua’s EV is set to return Malaysia’s auto industry to pre-eminence.

The Magna-Steyr platform for the QV-E is designed to be integrated into a variety of body styles and drivelines — from cars to food trucks to 4x4s for palm oil fruit bunch collection.

Although this could be Malaysia’s best shot to date as a global exporter of EVs, Perodua could just as well end up supplying EVs to government agencies.

After all, the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint states that by 2030, EVs should account for 15% of TIV. There’s also a plan for 50% of all new vehicles procured or leased by government ministries (and government-linked companies) to be EVs.

That said, it remains to be seen whether policymakers can deftly balance infant industry protection with open‑market competition.

This is Malaysia’s second chance to be a real automotive industry participant with export earnings and retained domestic revenue, and not just an import substitution case without its own IP.

Yamin Vong is on Facebook yamin.com.my.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.