Where did 2023 go? Perodua kicked off last year with the launch of the D74A Axia. It felt recent, but was way back in February (they made us work hard on Valentine’s Day). The all-new DNGA Axia starts at a higher price point, leaving a gap for the Axia E – essentially a kosong previous-gen Axia – to fill. The ‘Axia Rahmah’ popped eyes with a RM22,000 sticker price in June.
One new model, one facelift. That’s what Perodua does in a year, and the repurposed old Axia completed the brief for the market leader in 2023. How about this year? Here, we take a look at what might be under Rawang’s sleeves for 2024.
Looking at Perodua’s current range of six models (excluding the Axia E), it’s the Aruz that’s most in need of an update. The high-riding seven-seater was launched back in January 2019, which means that it has been five years without a facelift. The Aruz was given a mild update in mid-2021, but it was more of an equipment/colour job than a facelift.
While the Aruz isn’t Perodua’s top priority as they have the hot-selling Alza seven-seater in the family, the former’s above-average ground clearance stands in contrast with the deliberately lowered Alza, and that might be a draw for certain buyers. If P2 intends to persist with the Aruz, a facelift could be in the works. In Indonesia, the Daihatsu Terios was facelifted in June 2023.
The Bezza also feels like it has been around for a very long time. Indeed, the homegrown sedan first surfaced back in mid-2016, which means that the Bezza will soon celebrate its eighth birthday. Today’s facelifted version will be four years old next week. While P2 has confirmed that it is working on the next-generation Bezza, which will be an ASEAN car, it’s still a few years away. In any case, the Bezza isn’t just far from broke, it most probably ended 2023 as Malaysia’s best-selling car.
How about the Myvi? The current third-generation hatchback is now entering its seventh year. Both the first- (2005-2011) and second-generation (2011-2017) Myvis were replaced in six years so can we expect a new one soon? We could be looking at another update before a DNGA-based next-generation, but it most probably won’t be in 2024 – today’s facelift is just slightly over two years old. Moving forward, would the ‘King’ be a good canvas for P2’s first EV?
With all the facelift candidates out of the way, here’s the big one – what will be Perodua’s new model for 2024? The much-anticipated D66B B-segment SUV could well be it. Think of a proper B-segment SUV that sits above the Ativa in size and price, giving like-for-like competition to the Honda HR-V and Proton X50. In Indonesia and Thailand, this HR-V rival is called the Toyota Yaris Cross.
The Yaris Cross made its ASEAN debut in Indonesia in June 2023 with 1.5L NA and 1.5L hybrid powertrain options, while in Thailand, the B-SUV debut in October as a pure hybrid. Speaking of hybrids, Perodua plan has always been electrification before electric cars, which means that we’ll get hybrids first before EVs, and 2024 has been mentioned before as the start point. We’ve dived into this topic before – full story here.
Unlike its national counterpart, Perodua’s approach when it comes to new products is to keep its cards close to chest, only revealing its hand when it’s time to play. As such, the best that we can do is don a tuxedo, strap on the Omega, order a shaken drink and bet on an all-new B-SUV and possibly an Aruz facelift in 2024.
GALLERY: Toyota Yaris Cross at GIIAS 2023
GALLERY: Daihatsu Terios facelift at GIIAS 2023
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