RAWANG, Feb 24 — Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is allocating RM1.2 billion for capital expenditure (capex) this year.
President and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad said of this amount, up to RM700 million is set to be utilised for research and development plus the development of the new D55L model, while RM250 million is dedicated to sales network expansion.
“Of course, this is based on our initial planning, not incorporating the (effects of) covid-19, further movement control order (MCO) and so on,” he said during a question-and-answer session after an exclusive media preview and test drive of the new model, which was organised by the company.
The session was held in accordance with strict standard operating procedures and safety guidelines at the Perodua headquarters here on Monday.
The D55L is Perodua’s internal code name for its five-seater compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) which is slated for launch on March 3.
Zainal Abidin shared the D55L will have nearly 95 per cent local parts content, the highest compared to Perodua’s other models which on average have over 90 per cent local content.
He also said Perodua remains the biggest buyer of automotive components in Malaysia.
The compact car maker is expected to purchase a record RM6.5 billion worth of locally-sourced components in 2021, up from RM6.0 billion in the preceding year.
Meanwhile, Perodua’s 2021 production target represents a 23 per cent increase over the 220,968 units manufactured in 2020.
For the new D55L, he said the expected production capacity is around 36,000 to 40,000 per year and it can be ramped up with overtime incentives.
Zainal Abidin said the Perodua D55L is the first model under the Perodua Smart Build (PSB) blueprint, spearheading breakthroughs for Perodua in style, safety, technology, equipment levels and value.
The PSB is Perodua’s first sustainable blueprint that includes almost the entire Malaysian automotive supplier and dealer ecosystem, designed to thrust itself and the industry towards greater globalisation. — Bernama
