FOR the past year there has been a lot of media chatter on the arrival of a brand new Perodua crossover. Codenamed the DL55, this soon to be launched Perodua is a reworked 2020 model Daihatsu Rocky.
This new Perodua will feature a compact body with a length of 3,995 millimeters and 1,695 millimeters wide.
It will probably look very much like the Daihatsu Rocky which means it will be equipped with 17-inch wheels with wide tires and protruding fenders, which will provide that crossover look that most Malaysian car buyers want today.
This Perodua crossover will have an impressive 369-liter luggage capacity and the rear seats can also be folded to further increase the cargo space available, enabling particularly large or long items of luggage to be loaded. In addition, there will be storage solutions located throughout the cabin, resulting in a family friendly interior space.
This Perodua will use the newly developed lightweight, highly rigid body and suspension that will contribute to outstanding handling stability and ride comfort.
Under the bonnet will be a new Toyota and Daihatsu joint developed 1.0-liter turbo engine with D-CVT which will provide the torque and driving ease of a 1.5-liter engine, as well as outstanding fuel efficiency.
Delayed
This Perodua crossover was supposed to be launched at the end of 2020, sometime now, but due to the ongoing pandemic its launch has been delayed by almost 5-6 months.
The delay of parts, raw materials to make components and vendor factory shut-downs are the reasons why.
Opportunity
The DL55 launch delay allows the recently launched Proton X50 to take a big chunk of the segment sales.
At press time, Proton has more than 21,000 bookings for this X50 crossover and with its asking price ranging from RM79,200 to RM103,300, there seems to be no real rival to stop the rise of its bookings.
Meanwhile, Proton is also experiencing parts delivery issues and raw materials supply issues due to the pandemic and this is why delivery to customers has been slow and the current waiting list is between 5-6 months.
What If
If Perodua had their DL55 Crossover in showrooms right now, there would be at least 40 to 50% of the current X50 customers on the waitlist moving their booking to this new Perodua crossover, which by our guess will be selling for between RM65,000 to RM75,000.
So far there has been no confirmed information on its launch date as Covid-19 has made production timelines very uncertain.
In Indonesia
To date, the Daihatsu Rocky and its sibling, the Toyota Raize are still pending launch in Indonesia due to the same issues facing Perodua in Malaysia.
More information will be shared in coming months and meanwhile the Proton X50 enjoys ever increasing bookings. – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
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