PERODUA’s battery passport framework will be central to Malaysia’s development of a full electric vehicle battery ecosystem, even as public attention has recently turned to its first EV’s battery-leasing model.
According to the article by NST, the national carmaker said the battery passport – developed with government agencies – is already in place with process flows covering traceability, repurposing and eventual recycling.
The framework has also been presented to authorities in Japan as Perodua seeks alignment on cross-border lifecycle standards.
However, Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad said improvements are still needed, particularly in establishing a viable battery repurposing industry before batteries move to recycling.
“Repurposing must come first. The industry has to be developed in Malaysia,” Zainal told reporters at the media test drive of Perodua QV-E in Sepang prior to its launch on Dec 1.
He added that that technical guidelines and workflows are already drafted.
Perodua’s “battery-as-a-service” (BaaS) model for the QV-E is designed to support this broader ecosystem by ensuring used batteries are channelled into controlled repurposing and recycling streams.
However, the QV-E launch has also drawn public scrutiny, with questions raised over long-term lease commitments, ownership structure and the clarity of early documentation.
Perodua has since clarified the terms and revised the customer information sheet to address misunderstanding, stressing that the intention is to lower upfront costs for buyers while ensuring responsible end-of-life management of EV batteries.
Under the BaaS scheme, battery replacement is tied to performance rather than arbitrary timelines.
If the battery fails to meet required standards within the lease period, replacement is provided under warranty, with the process taking about 30 minutes at designated service outlets.
