Perodua has just rolled out its first fully electric vehicle (EV), and they’re proudly calling it 100% Made in Malaysia – or so the claim goes.
Meet the Perodua QV-E, which stands for Quest for Visionary Electric Vehicle (you say it ‘queue-vee’). It’s priced at RM80,000 on-the-road without insurance, but there’s a notable catch: that figure doesn’t include the battery. Instead, the battery is leased to owners under what Perodua calls Battery-as-a-Service, or BaaS. The monthly subscription will set you back RM275 (RM297 after the 8% sales and service tax) for nine years, and it’s bundled into your regular finance repayment as a single payment.
It’s worth noting that the BaaS model is mandatory for the QV-E – there’s no option to buy the battery outright.
In terms of size, the QV-E stretches 4,170 mm in length and 1,800 mm in width, with a 320-litre boot. Power comes from a front-mounted motor putting out 204 PS (150 kW) and 285 Nm of torque, making this Perodua’s quickest and most powerful model yet – it’ll get from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds.
The car uses a 52.5 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery from China’s CATL. Its quoted range is 445 km, which should translate to around 380 km on the more realistic WLTP cycle. When it comes to charging, the QV-E can take DC fast charging at up to 60 kW, topping the battery from 30% to 80% in about half an hour. A full 0-100% charge on a 6.6 kW AC home wallbox will take around eight hours.
If you’re interested, the QV-E will be sold and serviced only at selected Perodua EV authorised outlets across Peninsular Malaysia. In the Klang Valley, that includes Perodua Sentral in Petaling Jaya, along with locations in Glenmarie and Putrajaya. Over on the West Coast, you’ll find it in Juru (Penang), Ipoh (Jalan Lahat), Senawang (Negeri Sembilan), and Johor Bahru (Jalan Tampoi). On the East Coast, the model will be available in Kota Bharu (Batu 4, Jalan Kuala Krai) and Kuantan.