National automaker Perodua has released a joint statement with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the formation of a new xEV engineering programme.
This partnership would essentially see P2 collaborating with UTM on next-gen EV technology that involves both human capital development and research in a bid to embrace the green mobility future in Malaysia.
Continuation of P2’s Previous Partnership with UTM
This new MoU signing marks a continuation of Perodua’s partnership with UTM that started back in Jan 2025, and the national automaker is definitely no stranger to leveraging expertise and know-how from the academic world and bringing them to the industry.
It entails a five-year collaboration between P2 and UTM, where 10 to 15 top-scoring students from UTM’s Bachelor of Electrical Engineering course will be selected each year to participate in this special programme.
After that, these selected students will undergo industrial training with Perodua for 10 weeks, where they will be given chances to achieve Level 3 international certification from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), while their final year project (FYP) will be jointly supervised by Perodua engineering experts.
To further strengthen its support towards this programme, Perodua has also donated two units of the Perodua QV-E EVs for practical learning and research purposes.
Perodua ‘Nexus EV’ Prototype Shown
But what’s not mentioned in this new collaboration is the development of what appears to be an EV prototype simply known as the Nexus EV, as shown in one of the images sent together with the release.
From the single image shared, we can see that the Nexus EV is built upon the second-gen Perodua Myvi hatch, and a further dig-up reveals that this particular prototype is the work of UTM and NanoMalaysia, with the latter being a company directly answering to Malaysia’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI).
And from an article published on UTM’s official research portal, the Nexus EV is essentially a second-gen Myvi being converted into an EV using a proprietary technology developed by NanoMalaysia known as the Hybrid Electric Storage System (HESS).
Mind you, the hybrid here actually refers to the two types of energy storage used in this system, with one being the conventional batteries and the other being supercapacitors—the latter can also be found in the Lamborghini Sian, which is billed as the first production car to feature a supercapacitor setup.
Two Separate Energy Sources for One EV
The article further elaborated by saying that by pairing these two energy storage types, they can improve power quality during high transient demands, such as sudden acceleration or repeated stop-start traffic, while protecting battery life by smoothing current spikes.”
“Batteries excel at storing energy for range, and supercapacitors excel at delivering and absorbing high power quickly. In the converted Myvi, the supercapacitor reduces peak current draw from the battery during accelerations and captures high-power regenerative braking energy with lower losses. Supercapacitors help extend battery cycle life by reducing strain on the batteries,” the research article continues.
To manage the whole system, the research team also developed a custom energy management system with intricate control algorithms to allow the prototype to switch between its two energy sources.
As for the usual specs, the article listed that the Nexus EV features a single electric motor setup rated at 129 PS and 235 Nm, which is good enough for a century sprint time of 10 seconds flat. Its battery capacity is rated at 26 kWh, which the research claims can provide up to 250 km of “practical driving range.”
P2 to Help Make This Tech Viable?
Having said that, the research did cite several drawbacks from the prototype, including the need for a special enclosure design for its battery with a built-in thermal management system. The additional battery pack itself will also add an extra 200 kg to the car, and integrating them within the car’s chassis would be another hassle too.
While it sounded like the technology isn’t a practical and mature solution for now, the research concluded by saying that the next step is to include “improvements on battery packaging, developing more advanced battery thermal management systems, an enhanced HESS energy management system, and exploring fast-charging protocols that leverage the supercapacitor module to reduce peak battery stress.”
And now that Perodua is in the picture, perhaps this prototype could be further developed into something more viable and practical enough for the automaker to adopt into its future EV models…
