During the early years of the Perodua Kancil, the Malaysian automaker entered Malaysian rallies with the model, later switching to the Kelisa and then the Myvi as the models became available. The participation in rallies helped to show that the little cars were tough enough to withstand the rough off-road conditions.
While the engines did not have high power output, the compact size of the cars made them very manoeuverable in the estates, which was advantageous. On soft muddy ground too, the lighter weight meant that the car didn’t sink so much and could often skim over mudholes.
For Perodua, involvement in the rallies was not just providing the cars and money but technical teams also followed the teams and provided support as well as collected feedback which would help improve the cars in certain areas. This is often done by other leading automakers who have used motorsports for R&D.
Perodua ended its rally activities in 2009 and turned its attention to other areas of development to continue offering compact cars at affordable prices for Malaysians.
