DAIHATSU - background & news

Daihatsu 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 jidosha in Japan. Kei jidosha (or kei cars) is a Japanese category of small automobiles, including passenger cars, vans, and pickup trucks.

The name ‘Daihatsu’ is a combination of the first kanji for Osaka and the first of the word ‘engine manufacture’.

The company was formed in 1951 as a 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 ’80s. In 1967, it signed an agreement with Toyota Motor Corporation.

In 1988, Daihatsu USA launched with the Charade and Rocky. Since February 1992 in North America, it has been common for Toyota to distribute Daihatsu models.

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 seven per cent.

Daihatsu has supplied cars under different badges to various different automakers in the past and also supplies engines and transmissions to one of Malaysia's largest car makers, Perodua, which sells a small number of cars in the United Kingdom.

The Daihatsu current range consists of four models - Copen, Materia, Sirion, and Terios.