Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim officially launched Perodua's first electric vehicle, the QV-E, marking Malaysia's fully homegrown EV entry with a development cost of RM800 million involving over 100 local experts and more than 52 Malaysian component suppliers.
The QV-E features a single front-mounted electric motor delivering 204 horsepower and 285 Newton-meters of torque, accelerating from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 7.5 seconds, powered by a CATL-sourced 52.5 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery offering up to 445 kilometers of NEDC range.
Priced at RM80,000 on-the-road without insurance, the vehicle introduces a unique Battery-as-a-Service model where buyers own the car but lease the battery separately for a monthly subscription fee of RM275, providing customers with a lifetime battery guarantee and reducing ownership anxiety.
The crossover was developed on an all-new platform jointly created with Austrian automotive specialist Magna Steyr, designed to adapt across multiple body types in A- to B-segment ranges and capable of supporting future hybrid and range-extender electric applications with minimal modifications.
Perodua CEO Zainal Abidin Ahmad stated that production at the new Smart Mobility Plant in Sungai Choh currently stands at 500 units monthly and will scale up to 3,000 units per month by the third quarter of 2026, with plans to increase local vendor participation to 70 companies by 2030.
