Perodua To Increase Local Engineering Input For Upcoming Sedan Model

Perodua will be increasing its involvement in the upper body engineering work for its upcoming sedan model, said reports The Star.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, Perodua President and CEO Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the upcoming sedan model will have an upper body designed by Perodua’s team and the remainder of the car such as the engine and platform will still be from Daihatsu.

Upper body engineering refers to vehicle’s exterior body panels, and general construction of the body structure area behind the engine’s bulkhead and above the floorpan. All current Perodua models have had some level upper body engineering work done locally, which explains the differences in exterior styling and dashboard of Perodua models from their Japanese- or Indonesian-market counterparts.  

As Daihatsu does not have any sedan models in their global line-up, creating the Perodua sedan will require a lot more upper body engineering work than previous Perodua models.

“Based on our more than 20 years of partnership, Daihatsu has allowed Perodua to be more involved in the design and development of our vehicles.

“In this process there has been transfer of technical and engineering knowledge as well as transfer of technologies,” he said.

At the same time, a representative from Daihatsu Motor, Perodua’s technical partner, senior managing executive officer said “Having the car’s upper body part designed by Perodua will create a better product that suits the Malaysian market.”

At the last 2013 KL International Motor Show, Perodua showcased the GMS Buddyz Concept, which is believed to preview Perodua’s first sedan model. We expect Perodua to give a sneak preview of the car by end-2016, before launching it in 2017.