Perodua Axia

The Axia was developed as the successor to the Viva. Perodua chose to license the Daihatsu Ayla/Toyota Agya platform for their Viva Replacement Model (VRM).[5] The Ayla and Agya duo have been on sale in neighbouring Indonesia and Philippines since 2013, but not in Malaysia. Although the Viva replacement model will be based on the Ayla/Agya platform, Perodua has iterated that the upper body and external elements will be indigenously designed, and the car will not be just a rebadged model.

On 26 August 2013, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak announced that the replacement model to the Viva will launch in 2014 as the cheapest new car on the market.[6] The new model will be built at Perodua's all-new RM1.3 billion, 65,000 sq ft second manufacturing plant, located adjacent to the company's original factory in Rawang, Selangor.[7] Perodua's new factory will mirror Daihatsu Kyushu's factory in terms of work ethics, technology and efficiency.[8] Perodua has since announced the construction of a new engine manufacturing factory in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan at cost of RM600 million.[9]

Perodua showcased the Global Model A Segment Space (GMA) concept at the 2013 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show in November.[10] The GMA previewed the interior design of the Viva Replacement Model (VRM). Perodua also showcased a new engine, the 1.0 litre Daihatsu 1KR-DE as a possible candidate for the VRM.[11]

On 11 June 2014, the first spyshots of an undisguised Perodua Axia were leaked online.[12] Further photos of various pre-launch Perodua Axia units have since been leaked online, but on 6 August 2014, additional photos revealed the final product name was indeed ‘Perodua Axia’, after months of media speculation.[13]

On 11 August 2014, Perodua teased a photo of the Axia on their official Facebook page.[5] Three days later, Perodua announced that bookings for the Axia will open on 15 August, with prices starting from RM24,900 along with a five-year warranty, a first for a Perodua model 5 years .[4] The following day, the first official photo from Perodua confirmed the product name ‘Axia’ along with the tagline ‘Your Smart Move’.[14] Later that same day, even more extensive official details on the Axia were unveiled.[15] Perodua released a teaser of the front end of the Axia Standard E and G variants on 19 August 2014.[16] The more expensive Axia SE and Advance variants sport a more aggressive and sporty exterior, whereas the cheaper Standard E and G trim lines offer a more modest and basic package.

The tentative pricing and equipment list for the Perodua Axia was leaked online on 14 August 2014.[17]

In the morning of 19 August 2014, Perodua announced that around 3,500 bookings have been made for the Axia in just the five days since 15 August, when bookings were officially opened.[18] Around 60-70% of the total bookings were made for the mid-range Axia Standard G model, whereas around 13% accounted for the base model, the Axia Standard E, and the remaining 17-27% made up the more expensive Axia SE and range-topping Axia Advance models.[18] Additionally, Perodua maintained that production of the now seven-year-old Viva will continue for as long as the demand persists. However, production of the no-frills Viva 660 and high-end Viva 1.0 and Elite is expected to cease nonetheless, with just the mid-range Viva 850 remaining in production.[18] Perodua also claimed that the all-new Axia will have 95% locally sourced content, with the remainder being imported from Indonesia and Japan. Despite having the vast majority of parts and components locally sourced, Perodua will still have to pay royalties to Toyota and Daihatsu for the licensing of their platform, engine and other key elements which were not indigenously designed by Perodua in Malaysia. Perodua also announced during the media briefing on 19 August that the tentative launch of the Perodua Axia would be in September 2014.[18] The company aims to sell 10,000 Axia units per month.

The Axia, which is a city car/A-segment car was not originally launched to compete with the similar but more upmarket subcompact/B-segment Proton Iriz, which also launched in the second half of 2014.[19]

The Axia received first facelift update on 20 January 2017 with the new 1.0L VVT-i engine. The same four variants remained on sale. The facelift brought along revised front grill and bumpers, an external boot release and revised equipment list.[20]

On 20 September 2019, the second-facelifted Axia was launched with six variants, including the new GXtra and SUV-inspired Style variants. Only E variant has manual transmission, and all the rest have automatic transmissions with ABS and EBD. The engine for second-facelifted Axia is retained from the previous facelift. At this facelift, both top SE and AV variants share similar appearance with E, G and GXtra variants with few trim differences; and new safety features are fitted such as VSC for GXtra upwards and ASA2.0 for AV variant. Other features such as retractable side mirrors, reverse sensors, driver seat height adjuster and anti-snatch hook are fitted for GXtra upwards also. Axia Style differs from others with different SUV-style bumpers, decorative roof rails, different grille and clear tail lamps. Axia Style, as well as SE and AV variants have keyless entry, push start button and white-illuminated meter panel as additional standard features.[21]

The interior dimensions are similar to those of the Myvi, with rear legroom being particularly generous for a car with such a modest footprint.

The Standard G variants gains over the Standard E variant a centre console, air conditioning control knobs painted silver as opposed to being unpainted, a double din FM AM CD headunit, a rev counter and a parcel shelf with strings.

The SE switches amber illumination for red illumination, gains Bluetooth connectivity, fabric insets on the door cards, chrome surrounds on the air con vents and instrument cluster, silver trim on the left and right spoke of the steering wheel as well as sports grip and the use of glossy plastic on the centre stack.

The Advance variants gains steering mounted audio controls and a touchscreen audio unit.

All four variants uses different seat upholstery with the Advance model the only variant that uses leather.

Alongside with the introduction of ABS in 2016, the Standard G variant also gained the glossy plastic finish on the centre stack. Do note that the headunit front fascia remained matt resulting into an interesting mid march.

With the facelift in 2017 saw new headunits for all three variants with the Standard G headunit ditching a knob for buttons to control volume. The front facia was updated to match the glossy plastic centre stack.