Perodua QV-E already received 1,700 bookings? Really?

Perodua QV-E reportedly has accumulated 1,700 bookings. Given the timing of the report, one may think that the recent price cut and outright purchase option may have caused a “sudden” influx of bookings for the national automaker’s first-ever electric vehicle.

After digging further, that might not be the case. This is because the claimed 1,700 bookings were reportedly secured BEFORE the price cut was announced to the public.

The “1.7k orders” for QV-E was mentioned in the 1QFY26 Results Review of MBM Resource Berhad (MBMR) by Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) dated 26 May 2026. As a reference, Perodua announced the QV-E’s price cut on 15 June 2026 – that’s 20 days apart.

For context, the appearance of Perodua in the report is not random, as MBMR holds a 22.6% stake in the national automaker. It also operates the nation’s largest Perodua dealership network, DMM Sales Sdn Bhd (DMMS) and is the main shareholder of DMMS’ parent company, Daihatsu Malaysia Sdn Bhd (DMSB).

Not to forget, MBMR also supplies various auto components to Perodua. It is unclear where exactly HLIB got the numbers from, but it was noted in the disclaimer that the information stated in the report was based on data from sources “believed to be reliable”.

That being said, the disclaimer also said that the data and sources have not been independently verified.

Why has Perodua never mentioned this figure before?

Unlike Proton, which would announce most of the wins that it has achieved, Perodua is known in the industry as the “quiet one”.

Nevertheless, given the amount of ridicule from the public that the automaker has received every time JPJ released QV-E’s monthly registration data for the past 6 months, having almost 2,000 orders in the books is a massive win, and the automaker should have mentioned it to the public.

Assuming the 1,700 figure is real, it is also more than double the bookings that Perodua’s President and CEO, Zainal Abidin Ahmad, has said during an interview with Nikkei Asia in mid-April.

For those who missed the latest EV registration figure from JPJ, 182 units of QV-E have been registered up until the end of May 2026. So, yes, at the very least, Perodua should have mentioned it when the company announced QV-E’s price cut last month.

Meanwhile, we are just days away from the next scheduled release of JPJ’s monthly registration data. So, let’s see how things go for QV-E in the next update.