Perodua

Malaysia Est. 1993 Compact Cars & SUVs Malaysia's Best-Selling Brand

Perodua is Malaysia's most popular car brand — producing affordable, reliable, and practical small cars and SUVs that have defined personal mobility for millions of Malaysian families.

1993

Founded

Malaysia

Origin

Myvi

Best-Seller

Rawang

Headquarters

Origins & History

Perodua — Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sendirian Berhad, or "Second National Car" in Malay — was established in 1993 with a mandate to provide Malaysia with affordable small cars to complement the larger vehicles produced by Proton. The company was formed as a joint venture between Malaysian corporate interests and the Japanese Daihatsu Motor Company, which provided technological foundation and engineering expertise critical to the brand's early development.

The Daihatsu partnership gave Perodua access to proven small car platforms, efficient engine technology, and manufacturing best practices that allowed the young company to produce vehicles of genuine quality from the outset. Early models including the Kancil (a localised version of the Daihatsu Mira) and the Kelisa quickly established Perodua as the affordable choice for Malaysian buyers who found Proton's offerings too large or expensive for their needs.

Perodua has grown to become Malaysia's best-selling car brand by consistent volume — outselling Proton and all other brands in Malaysia for most years since the 2000s. The Myvi, launched in 2005, became one of the most successful cars in Malaysian automotive history, remaining in production for over 15 years and consistently topping national sales charts. Today Perodua produces increasingly sophisticated vehicles including the Ativa SUV that compete successfully with Japanese imports.

Key Milestones

1993

Perodua established with Daihatsu partnership — the Kancil, Malaysia's most affordable city car, launches and immediately attracts buyers seeking practical transportation at prices below Proton's offerings; Perodua's production begins in Rawang, Selangor.

2005

Perodua Myvi launched — one of Malaysia's most significant automotive product launches in history; the Myvi becomes Malaysia's best-selling car for multiple consecutive years, defining the segment for practical urban hatchback motoring.

2015

Perodua Axia introduces new platform architecture — the Myvi's replacement platform provides a foundation for Perodua's next generation of vehicles with improved safety, efficiency, and technology; the Axia becomes Malaysia's most affordable new car.

2021

Perodua Ativa SUV launched — the brand's first proper SUV, featuring 1.0-litre turbo engine, D-CVT transmission, and comprehensive ADAS; the Ativa demonstrates that Perodua can compete in the premium compact SUV segment previously dominated by Japanese imports.

Notable Models

Perodua's lineup spans affordable city cars to contemporary compact SUVs, with each model designed to deliver the maximum value, reliability, and practical utility for Malaysian buyers.

Perodua Myvi

The most important car in Perodua's history — a compact hatchback that became Malaysia's best-selling vehicle for over a decade. The Myvi's combination of practical interior space, fuel-efficient engines, attractive pricing, and consistent reliability made it the default choice for Malaysian families seeking their first or replacement car. Multiple generations have maintained its dominance in the Malaysian market.

Perodua Ativa

Perodua's most technologically advanced product — a compact crossover SUV featuring a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with D-CVT transmission, advanced safety features as standard, and the design sophistication that allows it to compete credibly against imported alternatives. The Ativa demonstrates the significant advancement in Perodua's engineering capability since the original Kancil era.

Perodua Axia

Malaysia's most affordable new car — the Axia makes new car ownership accessible to Malaysian buyers at an entry-level price point, built on Perodua's latest platform with advanced safety features not typically available at this price. The Axia democratises access to modern, safe personal transportation for Malaysian families.

Technology & Engineering

Perodua's technical capabilities have advanced dramatically since the Daihatsu-dependent early years — the company now develops much of its own engineering while maintaining the Daihatsu relationship for platform technology and powertrain expertise.

DNGA (Daihatsu New Global Architecture) — Perodua's recent models benefit from Daihatsu's modular platform architecture, providing improved structural rigidity, crash safety performance, and manufacturing efficiency compared to earlier generations
Advanced Safety Assist — Perodua has been progressive in making advanced driver assistance features standard across its range at affordable price points, democratising access to automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning systems in Malaysia
D-CVT transmission — Perodua's new dual-mode CVT provides both conventional CVT smoothness and step-gear manual control, offering Malaysian drivers flexibility while improving the efficiency and driving character of the automatic transmission
Turbocharged efficiency — the 1.0-litre turbocharged engine introduced in the Ativa provides European-class fuel efficiency and adequate performance for Malaysian conditions in a package that significantly outperforms the naturally-aspirated engines of the previous generation

Perodua in Azerbaijan

Perodua vehicles are not distributed in Azerbaijan — the brand focuses on the Malaysian domestic market and a small number of export markets including the United Kingdom and select Middle Eastern countries. Azerbaijani consumers are unlikely to encounter Perodua vehicles through conventional channels.

For Azerbaijani automotive enthusiasts with an interest in Asian automotive markets, Perodua offers fascinating insight into how a national car programme can evolve from Daihatsu-derived small cars to increasingly sophisticated and competitive vehicles over three decades of development.

Why Perodua Matters

Malaysia's automotive success story: Perodua's growth from an affordable city car producer to Malaysia's best-selling brand across almost all vehicle categories represents one of Southeast Asia's most successful automotive development stories.
Democratising safe transportation: Perodua's commitment to making advanced safety features standard at affordable price points has genuinely contributed to Malaysian road safety — proving that safety technology need not be reserved for premium vehicles.
Daihatsu partnership model: The Perodua-Daihatsu partnership demonstrates how emerging market manufacturers can leverage established Japanese technology to build genuine local automotive capability — a model relevant to many developing automotive industries.
National mobility backbone: Perodua vehicles provide everyday transportation for millions of Malaysian families — the brand's contribution to Malaysian economic mobility and quality of life makes it genuinely important to Malaysia's social and economic development.