Will Perodua’s 1st EV be a rebadged Suzuki e VITARA? Or a self-developed vehicle with that powertrain?
In a significant development for the Asian automotive sector, Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced plans to strengthen their collaboration in the electric vehicle (EV) segment, with potential ripple effects that could reach Malaysia’s automotive landscape.
New Global EV SUV Partnership
The partnership will see Suzuki manufacturing a battery electric vehicle (BEV) SUV for Toyota at Suzuki Motor Gujarat in India, with production scheduled to commence in spring 2025. We covered the first fruit of this development yesterday – the Suzuki e VITARA – a vehicle that will be fully-imported for sale in Malaysia via Naza Eastern Motors next year.
Joint Development Platform
Perhaps most intriguingly for Malaysian market observers, the BEV unit and platform for this model have been jointly developed by Suzuki, Toyota, and Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. This three-way technical collaboration raises interesting possibilities for Perodua, Malaysia’s leading automotive manufacturer.
Potential Malaysian Connection
With Toyota holding a majority stake in Daihatsu, Perodua’s longtime technical partner, this development could have significant implications for the Malaysian market. Perodua, which has announced plans to introduce its first EV by 2025, might potentially benefit from this collaborative platform.
The timing is particularly noteworthy as Daihatsu doesn’t really have an electric vehicle or an electric platform that can be turned into a viable Perodua EV in time for the targetted 2025 launch. The latest developments shown at the Malaysia Autoshow 2025 reveal that Perodua themselves are not ready to put an EV into mass production, but are training their engineers on the systems involved in EVs. And since Daihatsu is named in this deal between Toyota and Suzuki, it’s clear to us that there is a clear path for technology transfer of these Suzuki components to a future Perodua EV. With such as tight timeline, it’s probably going to simply be a mostly cosmetic change, but we’ll wait and see. Perhaps engineering work has been going on quietly for many months.
Industry Analysis
While no official confirmation links Perodua’s upcoming EV to this Toyota-Suzuki platform, the established business relationships and timing suggest potential technological sharing. Daihatsu and Suzuki have been bitter rivals in their domestic market for years, but it seems circumstances in the global car industry has forced some changes. The other question worth asking is whether the Suzuki e VITARA will be viable in Malaysia and for how long?
