Perodua and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) yesterday put out a joint-release to announce the signing of a memorandum of agreement for an xEV engineering programme. Essentially, both parties will collaborate on next-gen EV technology, involving human capital development and research. Not earth-shattering news, especially when it’s a continuation of the memorandum of understanding signed in January 2025 for the same, and Perodua’s no stranger to bridging the industry-academia gap. What made us sit up was one of the photos accompanying the release, which you can see above. Between the two QV-Es Perodua donated to UTM for study purposes, sits a second-gen Myvi facelift with an EV-style number plate that says ‘Nexus EV’ (not to be confused with Nexis, which is the name that eventually lost out to Traz). Nexus is also the name of UTM’s research magazine, by the way. Of course, this isn’t an official Perodua product – neither is it likely to ever be, as is – but what’s interesting is the technology. The Nexus EV is the work of UTM and NanoMalaysia (a company limited by guarantee under the science, technology and innovation ministry, or MOSTI). It’s a Myvi converted into an EV, but it uses something called a Hybrid Electric Storage System (HESS). No, that doesn’t make it a hybrid. The word here refers to the fact that there are two energy storages – batteries and supercapacitors. UTM explains in an article that pairing the two “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,” says the article. The team developed a custom energy management system with sophisticated control algorithms to switch seamlessly between the two energy sources – the batteries and supercapacitors. The Nexus EV has a 129 PS/235 Nm electric motor, a 10-second 0-100 km/h time (current Myvi 1.5: 102 PS/136 Nm, 10.2 seconds), a 26-kWh lithium-ion battery, a 250-km “practical driving range” and an onboard charger that can top up the battery to 80% in about an hour. Packaging the battery modules within the small car required a custom battery enclosure design with a thermal management system. UTM says the addition of battery packs (around 200 kg) would cause a weight imbalance that would in turn necessitate reinforced mounts and suspension upgrades. Indeed, you can see that the boot is full of gubbins, so it’s not exactly a practical solution… yet. “The next steps 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,” says the article. It would be easy to dismiss this as nothing more than a weekend project, but Perodua has said many times that it thinks batteries are the biggest barrier to EV adoption in Malaysia. The company’s concerns surrounding cost, degradation and resale value are big reasons for the QV-E’s much-maligned battery leasing scheme. Likewise, the UTM article cites “high costs” and “reliance on foreign technology” as things that hinder widespread EV adoption, and Perodua president and CEO Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Ahmad has said before in an interview that the QV-E is facing issues with some of its Chinese suppliers – and we know the QV-E’s battery comes from China. As HESS and supercapacitor technologies continue to develop, do you think they can help P2 reduce reliance on expensive batteries and foreign technology? Compare prices between different insurer providers to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services. Many payment method supported and you can pay with instalment using Atome, Grab PayLater or Shopee SPayLater. Use the promo code 'PAULTAN' when you checkout for 10% discount!