Malaysia’s Perodua Viva launched

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

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Perodua Viva, Malaysia’s newest and the most popular car was launched in Sri Lanka at a ceremony held recently in Colombo. It was organised by Unimo Enterprises Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of United Motors Lanka.

United Motor Lanka’s Chairman, Ranjith Fernando said Viva cars were most needed in developing countries at a time when fuel prices are escalating. Peroduwa which entered into a joint venture with Dahitahsu Motors produces the VIVA car in Malaysia.

He said Unimo Enterprise’s relationship with Perodua started when they marketed models such as Kelisa, a few years ago. “Kelisa was one of the most popular vehicles in our product portfolio and over 1,500 vehicles have been sold in Sri Lanka since its launch in 2004, he said.

United Motor’s Chief Executive Officer Chanaka Yatawara said the VIVA was the most popular car in Malaysia. VIVA comes in a range of models such as the 660 cc standard, 850 cc 1000 cc and are suited for Sri Lankan road conditions.

Senior General Manager of Parodua in Malaysia, Katsumi Yoshida said VIVA which was the number two vehicle in Malaysia had sold 85,000 cars in Malaysia since its launch. Cars manufactured by Perodua were in both number one and number two slots in Malaysia. Since petrol prices went up by 40 per cent in Malaysia the demand for VIVA cars has increased tremendously, he said.

Unimo Enterprises Ltd has an extensive product portfolio comprising mid sized Perodua cars in Malaysia.

Unimo is supported by an extensive islandwide dealer network in Kandy, Matara, Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala and Nugegoda. Unimo has plans to appoint more service agents and dealers in Gampaha, Dambulla and Badulla in the near future.