Perodua Eco-Challenge gets moving..Let's!!

When we speak of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, one of the most active of car maker’s in our country is without doubt Perodua. Amongst its many CSR programs, one that stands out is the Perodua Eco Challenge, one that was created approximately 3 years ago to great success. Now entering its third year of competition, the 2011 Perodua Challenge has been tweaked to make it a lot more interesting and challenging for its participants. For those that are not aware of the Perodua Eco Challenge or how it works, it is a program that invites participants to design and modify a concept vehicle that car travel the furthest within a limited fuel supply. Which means that you need to create the most fuel-efficient vehicle with the resources that you have to win the competition.

The Perodua Eco Challenge is open to all universities and polytechnics in the country, and this year’s event will be held in the historic city of Malacca (more specifically the Melaka International Motorsports Circuit). The date has been set as the 25^th of June 2011, and up to 14 participants have already shown interest in the competition. This year’s competition has been made a lot more challenging as the participants would only be provided with the engine and transmission system this time around, a world of a difference from last year’s competition when they were given the whole car to modify (the Perodua Viva was given last year).

This also means that we will see a lot more different vehicles competing this year as the external design segment will be free of choice, and the contestants would have to construct their own chassis. Each team will receive RM17,500 in seed money this year, compared to RM10,000 last year due to this change. And in terms of fuel provided, the amount will be halved (down to 0.5-litres from 1-litre last year).

For the record Perodua’s in-house R&D team will also participate in this year’s competition, making the contest a lot more exciting. Prize money is RM20k for the car that can move the furthest with the amount of fuel that is provided, as well as RM15k for the engineering segment and RM5k for the design/participation category. 25^th of June is the date of the competition, don’t miss it!

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