Official name: Daihatsu Motor Ltd.
Owned by: Mostly Toyota (51%) plus massive public shareholding.
Current situation: Daihatsu has essentially become a subsiduary of Toyota, with an increased use of Toyota components in newer models.
Chances of survival: Good. However, it’s likely that the
Daihatsu brand will be gradually absorbed into Toyota, so we
may not see Daihatsu-badged cars for too much longer •
1
•
All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2016
A brief history of Daihatsu
The Daihatsu Compagno
F
OUNDED IN 1907 as the Hatsudoki Seizo Co Ltd,
Daihatsu originally produced engines only, and did not
start making motor vehicles until 1930.
Daihatsu started producing a
three-wheeler car in 1951 and
began exporting a three-wheeler
motorbike in 1957.
Limited success led the company to drop the vehicle and a
more conventional four wheel
car, the Compagno, was released in 1963.
However, Daihatsu was too small to survive by itself, and
began a partnership with Toyota
in 1967.
With Toyota’s backing Daihatsu
has thrived on what it does well
– small, nippy, economical four
cylinder cars.
The Daihatsu Gran Move
2
All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2016
Despite being very reliable, early Daihatsus were tinny deathtraps and appear frequently in lists of unsafe cars from this era
(later models are not such a risk and current ones are generally
fine).
A few years back, Toyota Motor Corporation closed down the
Daihatsu vehicle sales arm of its Australian operations. This is
less serious than it sounds: Daihatsu as a company is gradually
merging its models with those of its parent company Toyota.
Thus, the next model of the Daihatsu Sirion and the Toyota
Yaris were much the same vehicle.
After plummeting sales in Europe, Daihatsu also withdrew
from that market.
Over the longer term, there is little sense in Toyota continuing with the Daihatsu brand.
Outside of Japan, Daihatsu is a fringe player in an increasingly globalised car industry. Thus, Daihatsu’s days as a separate
company appear to be numbered •
3
All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2016