KUALA LUMPUR: Just as Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) celebrated the 10th anniversary of its popular Myvi, the second national carmaker has confirmed that it is to launch a sedan model no later than 2019.

According to Perodua, there is currently a prototype, with the vehicle’s platform and drivetrain also under evaluation stage.

The upper body including the interior is being designed by Perodua’s local research and development team, while the vehicle’s platform and drivetrain will be sourced from partner Daihatsu Motor Corp Ltd of Japan.

The management also said the sedan will carry a new car assessment programme 5-Star crash safety ranking.

“We have started this last year. It will take us 24 to 48 months [to achieve the rating]. Our partner (Daihatsu) wants us to be really ready when we launch this (sedan),” said Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh during a media event held in Langkawi last week in conjunction with the Myvi’s 10th anniversary celebration.

To boost its research and development (R&D) capability, Perodua plans to increase the number of its R&D staff by nearly 50%, from 400 to 600 over the next two to three years.

“This will reduce the development duration from model to model. However, for key engineering functions, we still send our engineers to Japan,” said Aminar.

He said that Daihatsu had a lot of confidence in the local team of Perodua to make the sedan project a reality.

Should the model become a success, the Japanese partner may also take the model and replicate it in other markets, said Aminar.

The launching of a Perodua sedan, at presumably an affordable price, is expected to have a major impact on the local car market, especially to national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd whose best-selling model remains the Saga sedan.

Thus far, Proton has seen sales of its new model Iriz — supposedly to compete with Perodua’s bread-and-butter models, Axia and Myvi, fall short of expectations.

According to industry data, in the first four months of this year, Proton’s sales dropped to 32,652 units or a market share of 15.2%, from 42,825 units or a 19.6% market share in the same period of 2014.

In contrast, with brisk sales of the new model Axia and also the all-time favourite Myvi, Perodua has seen sales increase to 74,737 units or a 34.8% market share in the first four months of the year, from 61,562 units or 28.2% market share in the previous corresponding period.

The high percentage in terms of market share as secured by Perodua, probably the highest by the company ever, reflects the preference of the majority of car buyers that goes for strong value proposition.

For Perodua, it is proud to share that since the Myvi was launched in April 2005, some 850,000 units have been sold. And the management is optimistic that cumulative sales of this ever popular model could reach one million units by the end-2017.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 25, 2015.