KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 ― In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that Perodua has been chosen as the lead car brand to produce affordable Electric vehicles (EV) under the New Industrial Master Plan 2030.

He reiterates that the 2025 timeline for Perodua to produce affordable EVs is still on after meeting with senior Perodua executives, including president and CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, to find out where the company is on their EV development and how the government can help to make the affordable EV dream a success.

Perodua also was reported developing the prototype EV with an international car partner, whose name was not disclosed. It is worth noting that the 2025 timeline for the Perodua EV introduction will be around the time the RM100,000 price cap for imported CBU EVs under Miti’s Franchise AP policy expires.

The company have previously shared a concept design of an EV called the Electric Motion Online (EMO) which was shown as a scale model back in May 2023 at the Malaysia Auto Show 2023. The EMO concept is a Myvi-sized vehicle with a reported 50kWh battery, with a range of 350 km on a single charge.

The question is ― where is Proton in the conversation? Will Perodua be the sole affordable EV manufacturer under the NIMP 2023 plan and Proton be positioned as a more premium option for Malaysians? Or will Proton enter the conversation at a later stage? ― SoyaCincau