Still buying an EV like it is 2018? Time to stop paying Ferrari prices for lawnmower fears.

Malaysia just got its first homegrown EV, the Perodua QV‑E, and it arrives with a twist: you buy the car, but you subscribe to the battery. The idea is simple. Strip out the priciest component to drop the sticker price, then spread that cost as a predictable monthly fee. The result is a headline RM80,000 car price, plus a battery lease. Smart, but is it right for you?

The problem

EV newcomers worry about two things: upfront price and battery degradation. Batteries are the most expensive part of an EV, and nobody wants to gamble on a pack losing steam just after the warranty ends. That fear has shaped the QV‑E’s entire offer.

The QV‑E’s battery subscription, in plain English

• Car price: RM80,000 for the QV‑E, excluding battery, as reported by multiple launch briefings and price reveals here and covered here.
• Battery lease: RM275 per month for 9 years, with an upfront RM891 that covers three months of fees, as explained in this breakdown and echoed by this overview.
• Ownership: The battery remains Perodua’s property during and after the lease. If you sell the car, the next owner must sign a new 9 year battery lease via official channels, per Perodua’s brief.
• Warranty: Battery gets a lifetime warranty while you are on the lease. Vehicle warranty is 6 years or 150,000 km. Drive unit is 8 years or 150,000 km. Details were shared in media sessions and summarized here and here.
• State of health threshold: If the pack’s state of health drops below 70 percent, you can opt for a new pack by entering a fresh 9 year lease, according to this explainer.
• Range and chemistry: QV‑E uses an LFP pack and targets up to 445 km of range on the launch cycle cited by media and Perodua’s official materials here and here.

Why this model exists

Separating the car and battery flattens the cost curve and takes degradation risk off your plate. Global EVs have tested this approach. NIO’s Battery as a Service cut the upfront price and let owners swap or upgrade packs as the tech improved, as noted in NIO’s program launch and subsequent updates. Renault pioneered battery leasing for the Zoe in Europe to similar effect, improving affordability while keeping battery health under the automaker’s care, as discussed in this case.

What it really costs

• Nine year battery total: RM275 x 108 months = RM29,700. Add the RM891 upfront for RM30,591 over the full term, per the battery plan details.
• Five year snapshot: 60 months of lease is RM16,500, plus the upfront RM891, totaling RM17,391 for the first five years.
• Your all in cost to drive: Car price RM80,000 + your financing cost + battery lease + insurance + electricity + maintenance. The subscription does not include charging costs, and the battery cannot be opted out of, as clarified here.

For context, the QV‑E’s headline range and LFP chemistry should help stabilize long term performance, while the lifetime battery warranty during the lease shifts most battery risk to Perodua. Recent field data suggests modern EV packs degrade slowly, about 1 to 2 percent per year on average, as aggregated by Recurrent and Geotab.

Range, charging, and real world expectations

• Range: Up to 445 km is the figure cited at launch, but like any EV, expect lower numbers with high speeds, heat, heavy loads, and frequent DC fast charging. Launch coverage is collected here and here.
• Charging network: Malaysia surpassed 4,100 public chargers in 2025 with accelerated DC rollout and aims for 10,000 charge points, per paultan.org and policy direction from MIDA. Monthly deployment updates show momentum continuing into late 2025, as tracked here.
• Battery health trends: LFP packs favor longevity and stability. Industry analysis expects continued improvements in cycle life and cost through the decade, as covered in BloombergNEF’s outlook and real world degradation summaries from Recurrent.

Financing, insurance, and resale

• Financing: Your hire purchase or bank loan covers the car only. The battery lease is a separate monthly commitment and is mandatory with every QV‑E, per Perodua’s plan explainer.
• Insurance and road tax: Insurers already underwrite EVs in Malaysia, but do ask how the leased battery is handled in your policy wording. Road tax for EVs remains favorable and policy support continues, as reflected in government briefings and market coverage.
• Resale: Since the battery is not yours, transfers are handled via Perodua. The next owner signs a new 9 year lease. This centralizes transactions and should preserve battery traceability, as noted here and here.

Risks and gotchas to watch

• You will never own the battery. After 9 years, to keep the car on the road you will need to renew the subscription or otherwise follow the program’s end of term rules, as outlined here.
• Contract terms matter. Ask about early termination, relocation, mileage conditions, transfer fees, default consequences, and out of scope damage versus normal degradation. Media summaries flag these as buyer questions even if not all terms are public yet here.
• Monthly stacking is real. Battery lease sits on top of your car loan, insurance, and charging costs. Budget for the full stack.
• Charging reality check. Coverage is improving fast but is not uniform outside major corridors, per rollout snapshots here. Confirm access around your routes.

Who should buy a QV‑E with battery subscription

• City commuters who value a low entry price, plan to keep the car 5 to 9 years, and want the battery risk off their books.
• Budget conscious drivers who prefer predictable, warranty backed battery costs instead of a big capital expense later.
• Fleet and rideshare operators who clock steady mileage and prize uptime over ownership of the pack.
• Solar enabled homeowners who can charge at home and level their monthly energy and battery costs.

Consider alternatives if you want to own and keep a car for 12 to 15 years with minimal ongoing commitments, or if you drive in regions where DC coverage and service access are still catching up.

Quick checklist before you sign

• Confirm monthly fee, upfront, and the exact contract length in writing. Media briefings cite RM275 per month for 9 years and RM891 upfront here.
• Ask for the battery’s state of health threshold, testing intervals, and replacement process under the lease. Launch coverage points to a 70 percent SoH threshold here.
• Get clarity on early termination, transfer to a new owner, relocation, and default scenarios. Summaries and FAQs are discussed here.
• Verify vehicle and drive unit warranties, service intervals, and software updates cadence with your dealer and Perodua’s official materials here.
• Map your charging life. Check coverage and speeds along your routes and near home or work, using the deployment snapshots here and nationwide counts here.

The bottom line

Battery leasing makes the QV‑E feel like a smartphone plan for your car: lower entry price, a monthly bill, and a promise that the most critical component is always someone else’s problem. If you want affordability plus peace of mind on battery health, it is a compelling new way to go electric in Malaysia. If you hate subscriptions on principle, the math will annoy you, even if the tech does not.