CarBrandLogos archive · Perodua · 2014

PeroduaAxia

The entry-level city car built to put new metal within reach.

Photo: LuvsMG481 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Perodua history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Perodua Axia, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

When the Axia replaced the Viva in 2014, it was the first model to come out of Perodua Global Manufacturing's new plant at Serendah, a facility built to raise the company's quality and efficiency rather than simply its volume. The car itself is straightforward: an A-segment five-door hatchback with a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout and a body kept as light as the engineers could manage.

2015 Perodua Axia 1.0 Standard G · Bindydad123 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

That lightness was the point. The Axia was developed to qualify as an energy-efficient vehicle under Malaysian rules, which brought tax advantages that could be passed on at the showroom. It launched as one of the cheapest new cars on sale in the country, and a large share of its buyers were people stepping out of a used car or a motorcycle for the first time.

2019 Perodua Axia 1.0 SE · Bindydad123 · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

A second generation followed in 2023 on Daihatsu's newer global small-car architecture, adding stiffer structure and more safety equipment while holding the same brief. The Axia has never been an interesting car to drive, and was never meant to be. Its significance is in access.

2018 Perodua Axia base front · LuvsMG481 · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance