Daihatsu may be getting ready to pull out of the European market, but as a last call, the Japanese firm will introduce one more model to its range, the new Charade. And as you've probably guessed by now, the “new” Charade is in fact a Daihatsu-badged version of the outgoing Toyota Yaris, the successor of which, has already been introduced in Japan and will be showcased through a hybrid study in Geneva.
The Charade will be available exclusively with a 1.33-liter gasoline engine delivering 99 ponies, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, with the option of an automatic gearbox. Daihatsu's rebadged Yaris will be offered with two equipment levels and the starting price is expected to be below that of its Toyota twin.
Toyota's small car subsidiary announced its decision to abandon the European market from January 31 2013, last December. The move was attributed to the increasing development costs to comply with emissions regulations in Europe, as well as the “appreciation of the yen against the Euro''. In short, Daihatsu decided it was no longer profitable to sell Japanese-made cars in Europe.
The firm's sale results didn't help either, with the company moving a mere 19.300 units in 2010 in ten European markets, which accounted for just 5.3 percent of the brand's global sales.
7 Comments:
You know if Daihatsu are going to do this...
Then use the first (Euro) Yaris and I'll buy one tomorrow!
Toyota seem to have lost the plot with the Yaris; the above was not as successful as the first [in europe] and the next one will sell even less... Call it a "Starlet"!
This is a shame, Daihatsu have always been pretty smart at making quirky. interesting city cars, I know they've used Toyota's mechanics for years but this is just lazy re-badging, it's the world of product streamlining we are living in, and it looks like yet another brand is going to be lost.
This is a shame, Daihatsu have always been pretty smart at making quirky. interesting city cars, I know they've used Toyota's mechanics for years but this is just lazy re-badging, it's the world of product streamlining we are living in, and it looks like yet another brand is going to be lost.
They've been doing it for years and seeing that Daihatsu is 51.2% owned by Toyota, it kind of doesn't really matter what badge it has
I'm truly aware of Toyota's 51.2% stake in Daihatsu, that's old news; it's just not until now has Daihatsu had to resort to slapping a 'D' badge on old Toyota tech AND pull out of the European market because of the struggling Yen.
They were the first Japanese manufacturer to launch cars in the UK, the first to successfully combine 4wd with a 3 cylinder engine in a car smaller than a truck, they consistently developed their engines and cars to break economy records, they were greener and cleaner before the great Toyota used it as a marketing tool to their benefit, they made cheap, practical transport for farmers with the Fourtrak, or, I forget the name in the US... anyway, an underrated company that's being undermined, I hope it's not the end for them!
I agree with this motion of marketing if there is lower in price.
I love this car, I have also a few years ago. I had no idea it was going to another I think I'll save to buy soon
Daihatsu
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