Perodua ICE model to enter production in Q2 2027, says supplier – new Myvi D01D or Bezza FL only next year?

Local Tier-1 automotive supplier MCE Holdings has announced it has secured RM54.28 million in supply contracts with Perodua, valid for 40 months or three years.

The company said it will provide various automotive electronics and mechatronic components – such as audio display, reverse camera and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) related components – for an internal combustion engine (ICE) model.

Production is set to begin via subsidiary Multi-Code Electronics Industries in the fourth quarter of the financial year ending July 31, 2027, translating to the second quarter of the next calendar year. The components will be built at the group’s newly-launched RM4.95 million MCE Auto Hub in Serendah, Selangor.

The project will mark the firm’s first time supplying vehicle audio display and ADAS-related components for an ICE vehicle, adding to its contract to provide such components for the QV-E EV. This broadens its “portfolio of higher-value components and systems,” it said.

“Our long-standing relationship with Perodua has given us the opportunity to grow alongside them, enabling MCE to progressively take on more sophisticated products, build our design and manufacturing capabilities and move up the automotive value chain,” said group managing director Goh Kar Chun.

Supply contracts are nothing new, of course, and neither are suppliers breaking news about a national carmaker’s future product. But it’s the timing that’s slightly amiss, because it suggests there will be no new models produced this year – although we can afford to cut it some slack, given that it launched two all-new cars last year, the QV-E and Traz.

As for which model this new one will be, we can only think of two. The current Myvi and Bezza are eight and ten years old respectively, and the next generations of both have been speculated on for some time. Of these two, the Myvi seems to be the one most in need of a refresh, given that the Bezza remains Malaysia’s most popular car.

A teaser for the new model was shown at the Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS), showing some QV-E-inspired design cues. Given the age of either of the possible predecessors, we were expecting it to be launched this year, but the relaxed timeline shows Perodua is in no hurry to debut it, even though it is losing market share to a resurgent Proton.

The likeliest new model is the Myvi – the fourth-generation model, codenamed D01D, should help propel the nameplate back up the sales standings. The former longtime best-seller sat in fourth as of last month, behind the Bezza, the Proton Saga and the smaller Axia. It’s set to utilise an updated version of the third-gen platform, itself related to the second-gen model.

A next-gen Bezza isn’t expected to arrive before the end of the decade, but a major facelift should tide buyers over. Similar to the Saga’s recent MC3 revision, the budget sedan could see some serious updates, including the much-needed six airbags. A facelift would also make sense given MCE’s truncated contract period – three years would supply Perodua up to 2030, which is bang on when the next Bezza is supposed to arrive.

Speaking of the contract, the revelation that this unknown model is using the same infotainment and ADAS supplier as the fully homegrown QV-E suggests that Perodua is taking greater control of those systems.

MCE already supplies infotainment and ADAS tech for the QV-E

Currently, the company’s ICE models take their driver assists from Daihatsu, whereas the systems in the QV-E were developed in house, much like most of the car. As Perodua gains more experience in developing its own indigenous models, we could very well see a point in which the only parts Daihatsu supplies to the company is the engine and gearbox.

Whichever form this new car takes, it will almost certainly continue to utilise the Toyota/Daihatsu NR range of four-cylinder engines, offered in 95 PS 1.3 litre 1NR-VE and 103 PS 1.5 litre 2NR-VE guises and paired with a Dual-Mode CVT (D-CVT).

Perodua also has aspirations to bring hybrid powertrains to market, and this new model could be the perfect springboard. It could use either Daihatsu’s e-Smart Hybrid – which uses the electric motor for propulsion and the combustion engine solely as a generator – or Toyota’s system from the Vios and Yaris Cross that features a planetary gearset to manage the two power sources. The forthcoming Ativa Hybrid will likely lead the car in bringing a petrol-electric powertrain to market, however.