It’s Official – The Third National Car Project Is On, Powered By Daihatsu

After much anticipation, the Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Darell Leiking finally announced earlier today that the new national car project is officially under way.

Speaking at a press event in Cyberjaya earlier this morning, he revealed that DreamEdge, a Malaysian innovation and digital engineering services company, will lead the project which will be fully funded privately.

He also announced that Daihatsu Motor Company will provide the technology support for the programme.

It was said that a completely new model with advanced technology based on tech from a global partner is expected to be launched in March 2021.

The car, which is said to be a plus-sized B-segment sedan, will be fully designed and developed by Malaysian engineers, focusing on new upper body, interior and human-machine interface systems, as well as enhancement of noise, vibration & harshness (NVH) and ride & handling (R&H).

Following today’s announcement, a model mock-up is expected to be shown at the end of August, followed by the initiation of an additional recruitment process for the project in September.

DreamEdge will then show the first model prototype of the new national car in March 2020, before the final product gets introduced to the market in March 2021.

“This project will create new opportunities for local vendors and talent to be part of the high technology value chain. Most importantly, local businesses are able to explore activities that are in demand in the future, in a conducive environment, minimising risks associated with high investment when such operations are supplied locally at the infancy stage,” said Datuk Darell Leiking.