The Perodua Ativa Hybrid is now in the hands of 300 subscribers as part of a market study.
In Malaysia, most car buyers choose to either purchase their vehicles outright or use a hire purchase facility to fund their ownership. This is especially true for local brands. Perodua are bucking the trend with their new Ativa Hybrid, as leaked last month. The company’s first ever electrified model was brought into the market today, but will not be offered for sale to the public. Instead, 300 units of the Perodua Ativa Hybrid have been introduced via subscription to corporate clients through Perodua’s “EZ MOBi” arm.
This study will examine group driving behaviour of hybrid vehicle owners in populated locations in Malaysia such as the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru. The other aspect of this study is to examine the viability of a 5-year ‘subscription’ instead of conventional ownership options.
“The Perodua Ativa Hybrid would be the best vehicle for us to gain unique insights on Malaysian behaviour as a controlled group , as this data will be used to anticipate our customers’ needs when using an electric vehicle,” Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad said.
Perodua has only ever sold petrol powered vehicles in Malaysia. In 2020, they introduced their first ever turbocharged engine with the Ativa. The Ativa Hybrid represents their first step into electrified mobility, which opens new possibilities for the company in terms of their sales model.
“While we believe that vehicle ownership will still be our bread and butter; there is a possibility that a vehicle subscription business model may be acceptable for more users in the near future. This is what we mean by ‘subscription’ – a service where all other obligations of owning a vehicle – such as following a service schedule, paying vehicle insurance and paying road tax – will be managed entirely buy us; all the customer has to do is pay a subscription fee to enjoy the package,” Dato’ Sri Zainal said.
Here’s the press release with more.
PRESS RELEASE
Perodua is embarking on its first-of-its-kind electric vehicle study as well as a long-term mobility as a service market study involving 300 subscribers of its limited Ativa Hybrid model.
This study is divided into two parts, the first is to understand group driving behaviour of a hybrid vehicle in populated locations of the country, namely in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru. The other purpose of this study is to understand consumer’s acceptance of a 5-year “subscription” service, which Perodua is offering to corporate clients under its “EZ MOBi” arm.
The Perodua Ativa Hybrid Subscription Event was attended by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Secretary General, Dato’ Sri Lokman Hakim Ali, Perodua Chairman, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin and Daihatsu Chairman, Mr Sunao Matsubayashi.
The Perodua Ativa Hybrid uses a “series hybrid” system whereby the electric motor sets the vehicles’ wheels in motion while the engine acts as a generator to charge the engine. This model uses a 1.2L engine (WA-VEX) to power the generator.
Based on this technology, the Perodua Ativa Hybrid’s Series System is capable of reaching distances of 31.3 kilometres per litre (based on Malaysian Driving Cycle test) He said that this pilot programme by Perodua will also allow the compact car company to see the acceptance level of customers on a long-term subscription programme as an alternative to the traditional buying and selling of cars.
Dato’ Zainal explained that Perodua does have an existing subscription service managed under its EZ MOBi arm but at the moment the subscription service is only for companies and not individuals. Perodua’s EZ MOBi service was first introduced in January 2021.
