Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Sri Zainal Abidin Ahmad has released a formal statement in response to Daihatsu’s admission of violation regarding crash safety testing conducted for regulatory approval applications involving four models including the Perodua Axia.

“We wish to offer some background, insight and perspective on the nature of this announcement, especially in reference to the new Perodua Axia.”

“Perodua engaged Daihatsu Co Ltd to carry out safety testing for the new Perodua Axia in Japan, which was witnessed by relevant authorities and agencies for their respective assessment. As we receive news of this “procedural irregularity” by Daihatsu, we immediately contacted these bodies to determine if the safety standard of the Perodua Axia was compromised.”

“We were assured that despite the revelation by Daihatsu, the UN-R95 certification given to the Perodua Axia is intact. This means that the Perodua Axia is safe for driving and no recall will be issued nor will Perodua stop delivery of this new model to our valued customers.”

“We apologise for any distress caused to our customers on this matter and we wish to assure that the safety information and specification of all our models are verified by professional bodies. We will continue to monitor this situation and will update the public on this matter as it develops.”

“We place our customer’s safety and comfort above all else and we will continue to do so as part of our practice of Going Beyond what is expected. Thank you,” the statement read.

On the top-tier AV variant, the new Axia includes a variety of autonomous driving safety assistance features, including pre-collision warning and braking, lane departure warning and prevention, and auto high-beam assistance, just like other Perodua models.

In addition, all variants of the Axia come with Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, ABS with EBD, Hill Start Assist and Perodua’s Smart Drive Assist. The AV variant gets six airbags while the other variants get two.