[edit]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.
[edit]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 ended its Australian operations in March 2006 after almost 40 years in that 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 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 reduced 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.
[edit]Hybrid technology
The hybrid vehicle technology is called Daihatsu Mild Hybrid System [2], mainly used in Atrai/Hijet Hybrid-IV.
[edit]Passenger car models
Toy model of Daihatsu Midget (
Bajaj)
