PERODUA CONFIRMS ATIVA NAME, PRICING STARTS FROM RM61,500

KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 -- Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) has officially confirmed that the long-awaited compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) goes under the name of Ativa.

The new SUV was officially unveiled by Perodua Chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin via a digital premiere live-streamed on social media platforms that began at 8 pm Wednesday, with links to microsites for an interactive experience giving viewers access to more information.

Ativa price starts from RM61,500 for variant X on-the-road before insurance in Peninsular Malaysia, RM66,100 for variant H and RM72,000 for the top variant (AV).

The compact car maker also set a conservative monthly sales target of 3,000 units for the new five-seater SUV.

President and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad had earlier shared that the Ativa is the first model under the Perodua Smart Build (PSB) blueprint, spearheading breakthroughs for Perodua in style, safety, technology, equipment levels and value. 

Zainal highlighted that Ativa/the new SUV is Perodua’s first turbocharged vehicle, in line with the global downsized forced-induction trend.

Ativa is also the first Perodua to use the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), enabling a fuel efficiency of 18.9 kilometres (km) per litre (L).

"This Perodua's fifth energy efficient vehicle (EEV) model has a 1.0L turbo engine but its performance is similar to 1.5L with high fuel efficiency.

“Small engines does not necessarily mean not good or underpowered," he said during a question and answer session after the exclusive media preview and test drive of the model, which was organised by the company at Perodua’s headquarters in Rawang, on Feb 23.

Zainal said Ativa's conservative monthly sales target of 3,000 units is an ideal figure as the company expects no major cannibalisation of its other models like Aruz and Myvi, as they all cater for a different market segment.

Built using the newly developed suspension and underbody known as the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) platform, Perodua said the Ativa has a lighter and stronger body, enhanced collision safety, improved noise and vibration performance, and high adaptability for future technology.

Its state-of-the-art safety technology kit is one of its biggest highlights, with the autonomous emergency braking and lane keeping control (LKC) system being the standard offering for its entire range.

Zainal shared that Perodua’s involvement with the Ativa began from the drawing board with 54 Perodua designers and engineers working with Daihatsu on the model since 2018.

“We have so far received some 5,000 bookings for the Perodua Ativa since we began collecting orders on Feb 19. We thank the public very much for their support.

“Deliveries will begin tomorrow (March 4), and we aim to deliver an average of 3,000 units a month,” said Zainal, in a statement.

-- BERNAMA