Since its introduction back in 2014, the Perodua Axia has been Perodua's bread and butter model. It succeeds the Perodua Viva as the second national carmaker's most affordable model.

Codenamed D74A, development works are well underway for the new-generation A-segment hatchback and the DNGA platform model is set to debut sometime next year.

Powertrain – Axia’s Indonesian cousins could get turbo power, what about the Axia?

The Perodua Axia’s Indonesian cousins, the Toyota Agya and Daihatsu Ayla, are said to receive the Perodua Ativa's (sold in Indonesia as the Daihatsu Rocky and Toyota Raize) turbocharged 1.0-litre 3-pot engine in its next generation guise, likely making it Indonesia's first Low Cost Green Car (LCGC) to feature a forced-fed mill.

The second engine choice for the Axia’s Indonesian cousins is a new naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre WA-VE 3-cylinder engine. This new engine is set to replace the older 1.2-litre 3NR-VE unit.

Also Read: Daihatsu Ayla EV concept car debuts in Indonesia, Axia EV hinted?

While a next-gen turbocharged Axia is possible due to platform compatibility, since the D74A Axia will be underpinned the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA), but that’s very unlikely as Perodua needs to keep costs down.

Therefore, for the Malaysian market, it’s more likely that the next-generation D74A Axia will likely carry over the same 1.0-litre engine from the current model.

The turbocharged engine makes sense for Indonesia because it will be a step up from the 1.2-litre unit, but over in Malaysia, our Axia uses a much smaller 1.0-litre engine, so the gap in cost may be too big for the Ativa's turbocharged engine to bridge.

Also Read: Perodua Axia vs its Indo cousins Toyota Agya, Daihatsu Ayla - are Malaysians shortchanged?

Its DNGA underpinnings would also mean that the next-generation Axia will almost certainly drop the 4-speed torque converter automatic and replace it with a more modern Dual-mode CVT (D-CVT). The D-CVT is currently deployed in the Ativa and D51A Myvi.

Also Read: Turbo power for 2023 D74A Perodua Axia? Its soon-to-be launched Indonesian twins almost certainly could

Safety – What new additions can Malaysians expect?

When it comes to safety of the D74A Perodua Axia, we expect some features found in the updated D51A Myvi to trickle down to the A-segment hatchback.

Features like Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) could be offered on upper variants of the D74A Axia. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is also possible for the next-generation Axia, but chances are low as we think the technology needs one more full model change (FMC) generation for costs to come down further.

Furthermore, there isn’t a strong demand for such features from customers in this segment.

When will it go on sale?

While Perodua has not revealed anything surrounding this upcoming hatchback, over in Indonesia, sources familiar with the matter told OtoDriver that the new Ayla and Agya duo could debut as soon as March 2023.

As for the D74A Axia, we reckon that it could debut in the same year as its Indonesian stablemates.

Watch this space for more updates.

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