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Daihatsu

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Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
Company typePublic company (TYO: 7262)
51.2% owned by Toyota
IndustryAutomobile manufacturing
FoundedMarch 1, 1907
Headquarters
Osaka Edit this on Wikidata
Key people
Kousuke Shiramizu (Chairman)
Teruyuki Minoura (President)
Revenue1,348billion USD (2006)
4billion USD (2006)
Number of employees
11,873
WebsiteDaihatsu.com

Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. (ダイハツ工業株式会社, Daihatsu Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha, TYO: 7262, OSE: 7262) is a Japanese manufacturer of cars, well known for its smaller models and off-road vehicles. Many of its models are also known as kei jidōsha (or kei cars) in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture.[1]

The name "Daihatsu" is a combination of the first kanji for Osaka (大) and the first of the word "engine manufacture" (発動機製造, hatsudōki seizō) ; when put together they are pronounced "dai hatsu."

Daihatsu was formed in 1951 as successor organisation to Hatsudoki, and by the 1960s had started exporting cars to Europe, although it did not enjoy any major sales success until well into the 1980s.

Since February 1992 in North America, it has been common for Toyota to distribute Daihatsu models.

Company history

  • 1907 – Hatsudoki Seizo Co., Ltd. founded
  • 1951 – Company renamed: Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
  • 1967 – Signed an agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation
  • 1988 – Daihatsu USA launched with the Charade and Rocky
  • 1992 – Daihatsu USA shuts down in February
  • 1999 – Toyota gains a controlling interest (51%) in Daihatsu Motor Ltd.

Recent market withdrawals

It was reported on 31 March 2005 that Toyota would withdraw Daihatsu from the Australian market after sales fell heavily in 2005, in spite of the overall new-car market in Australia growing 7%. Daihatsu wound up its Australian operations in March 2006 after almost 40 years in the market.

Daihatsu's operations in Chile where Daihatsu is a well-known brand for its 1970s models such as the Charade or Cuore were also threatened after very low sales in 2004 and 2005. However, Toyota has stated that it intends to persist in the Chilean market for now.

Daihatsu has supplied cars under different badges to various different automakers in the past. The company currently provides engines and transmissions to Malaysia's Perodua, which manufactures and markets rebadged Daihatsu cars locally, and sells a small number of Perodua cars in the United Kingdom. After the launch of Perodua, Daihatsu's Malaysian operations were scaled down to concentrate on the commercial truck market, which it markets its Delta commercial truck chassis to; Daihatsu had formerly sold Charades and Miras in the country prior.

In Trinidad and Tobago, Daihatsu has had a market presence since 1958 when its Midget Mk.I was a popular choice among market hucksters. From 1978 until 2001, a local dealer marketed the Charmant, Rocky, Fourtrak, and then later, the Terios and Grand Move which proved to be popular sellers. The Delta chassis remained a popular market choice from its introduction in 1985 until today. Toyota Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Japan) now markets Daihatsu Terios, YRV and Sirion under stiff competition.

Hybrid technology

The hybrid vehicle technology is called Daihatsu Mild Hybrid System [2], mainly used in Atrai/Hijet Hybrid-IV.

Passenger car models

Daihatsu Midget MP4
File:Daihatsumidget.jpg
Toy model of Daihatsu Midget (Bajaj)
Daihatsu Hijet Tuk-tuk in Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand
File:Daihatsu Shariqs Mom Ph.JPG
Daihatsu Feroza SUV

Plants

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daihatsu.

References

  1. ^ "Corporate Info." Daihatsu. Retrieved on February 5, 2010.
  2. ^ DAIHATSU:Motor Show
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