Malaysia’s second national car company, Perodua, launched its all-new Traz compact SUV model, strengthening its current SUV line-up, which also includes the Aruz and Ativa models.
Malaysia’s largest vehicle manufacturer said the five-seater Traz was developed at a local cost of MYR 563 million (US$ 138 million) and claims to have a local content of 95%. It is powered by Daihatsu’s 1.5L NR-VE, 4-cylinder engine, giving it a fuel consumption of 21 litres per 100 km.
The Traz comes with advanced driver assist systems including pre-collision warning and braking, front departure alert, lane departure warning and prevention, blind spot monitoring, and parking assist sensors and cameras. On-the-road prices range between MYR 76,000 (US$ 18,630) and MYR 82,000 (US$ 20,100), excluding insurance.
The model is produced at Perodua’s Sungai Choh plant near Rawang, with output to be ramped up from a scheduled 1,000 units in December to 1,900 units per month from January.
Perodua CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad, pointed out that most of the local development costs involved achieving 95% local content, adding that “the introduction of this model will further contribute to local employment and local industry participation.” The company expects its expenditure on local procurement to rise sharply next year, up from an estimated MYR 11 billion (US$ 2.7 billion) in 2025.
