History of Perodua

The Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Berhad (English: Second Automobile Manufacturer Limited Corporation), usually abbreviated to Perodua (pronounced [pəˈrɒdjuːa]), is Malaysia's second automobile manufacturer after Proton. It was established in 1993 and launched their first car, the Perodua Kancil in late 1994. The shareholders of Perodua are UMW Corporation Sdn Bhd with 38% stake, Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (20%), MBM Resources Bhd (20%), PNB Equity Resources Corporation Sdn Bhd (10%), Mitsui & Co. Ltd (7%) and Daihatsu (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (5%).

Perodua mainly produces small-compact cars and therefore does not actually compete with Proton for the same market niche. In the United Kingdom their cars are sold by some Proton dealers who wish to attract customers seeking a smaller and cheaper alternative to the Proton range. Sales numbers in the UK are extremely small however, and in 2008 Perodua sold only 624 cars (down from 914 in 2002) and insignificant compared to 2008 figures of 28,036 for Hyundai, 29,397 for SEAT. Besides the UK and Singapore, Perodua also exports their cars to Mauritius, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Malta, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Nepal and Fiji in small numbers by local dealers.

Perodua does not actually produce any in house designs or engineering for the main components (i.e engine, transmission). All Perodua cars are badge engineered from Daihatsu. Daihatsu used to own a majority stake in Perodua^{[citation needed]}. In 2004, the Toyota Avanza started being assembled by Perodua in their factory in Rawang for the Malaysian market.

The Perodua logo

The original Perodua logo

Perodua organised a logo competition in 1997 to find a new corporate logo, to be launched together with their upcoming model, tentatively known as the X555. The competition was won by Johnson Ng Weng Kuan, an architecture student from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Perodua officially launched the new corporate logo on 24 August 1998 when they launched Malaysia's first 4x4 vehicle, the Perodua Kembara. The designer claimed that the inspiration of the design was the 'P' plate of probationary drivers, who would be the most likely to drive Perodua vehicles.

The new logo maintains the 'P' and '2' and the colours of the old, squarish logo, but has been stylised further to become more fluid and dynamic -- to represent excellent quality and reliability. The green colour represents social responsibility to the environment and the community, while the red colour symbolises the development of competent workforce and resilience in meeting challenges in the globalised world.