The story
History
Daihatsu was officially formed on March 1, 1951, as a successor to Hatsudoki Seizo Co. Ltd, founded in 1907, as part of Hatsudoki's major restructuring. Hatsudoki's formation was largely influenced by the Engineering Department's faculty of Osaka University, to develop a gasoline-powered engine for small, stationary power plants. From the beginning of the company until 1930, when a prototype three-wheeler truck was considered and proposed, Hatsudoki's focus was largely steam engines for Japanese National Railways and included rail carriages for passenger transportation. The company then focused on railroad diesel engines, working with Niigata Engineering and Shinko Engineering Co., Ltd. Before the company began to manufacture automobiles, their primary Japanese competitor was Yanmar for diesel engines that were not installed in a commercial truck to provide motivation.
The company's decision to focus on automobile production and related technologies was influenced by the early days of automobile manufacturing in Japan during the late 1920s and 1930s, when both Ford and General Motors had opened factories in Japan and enjoyed a considerable market share. Ford opened a factory at Yokohama in March 1925 and in 1927 GM opened Osaka Assembly until both factories were appropriated by the Imperial Japanese Government before World War II.
During the 1960s, Daihatsu began exporting its range to Europe, where it did not have major sales success until well into the 1980s. In Japan, the majority of Daihatsu models occupies the kei car segment.
Daihatsu was an independent automaker until Toyota Motor Corporation became a major shareholder in 1967 as the Japanese government intended to open up the domestic market. According to Toyota, it was first approached by Sanwa Bank, banker of Daihatsu. In 1995, Toyota increased its shareholding in the company from 16.8% to 33.4% by acquiring shares from other shareholders: banks and insurance companies. At the time, the company was producing mini-vehicles and some small cars under contract for Toyota. Toyota, by owning more than a one-third stake, would be able to veto shareholder resolutions at the annual meeting. In 1998, Toyota increased its holding in the company to 51.2% by purchasing shares from its major shareholders including financial institutions.
Following the 2008 financial crisis, Daihatsu's sales in Europe plummeted, from 58,000 in 2007 to 12,000 in 2011. Daihatsu pulled out of the European market by 2013, citing the persistently strong yen, which makes it difficult for the company to make a profit from its export business.
In August 2011, Daihatsu invested 20 billion yen ($238.9 million) in Indonesia to build a factory that produces low-cost cars under the Low Cost Green Car scheme. The construction had been initialized on 70,000 square meters on May 27, 2011 and started operations at the end of 2012, producing up to 100,000 cars per year.
In August 2016, Daihatsu became a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. In January 2017, Daihatsu and Toyota jointly established an internal company to develop compact vehicles for emerging markets called the 'Emerging-market Compact Car Company'. Under the internal company, Daihatsu is responsible of product planning and quality planning of the vehicles, while both Toyota and Daihatsu are jointly responsible of product and business planning. To support the company, Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Engineering and Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TMAP-EM) in Thailand was renamed to Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TDEM).
In October 2016, Daihatsu and Toyota announced a new vehicle architecture called the Daihatsu New Global Architecture (DNGA) was being developed. The second-generation Mira e:S was revealed as the first DNGA model in 2017, although the company later revised the definition of DNGA and launched the fourth-generation Tanto claimed it as the first DNGA model instead.
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From 2020 to 2022, Daihatsu trained employees from less-profitable sister company Toyota Motor East Japan to improve the latter's systems on development and production of small cars.
On 1 May 2024, the Emerging Markets Compact Car Company, which had been established across Toyota Motor Corporation and Daihatsu in 2016 was abolished, and its product planning functions were transferred to the Toyota Compact Car Company, with Daihatsu being as a contractor. In June of the same year, Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing in Thailand was moved under Toyota Motor Asia Headquarters, headed by Masahiko Maeda, and the company name was changed to Toyota Motor Asia, dropping the Daihatsu name.
Safety scandal
In April 2023, Daihatsu was found to have rigged safety tests for 88,000 cars, most of which were sold as Toyota Yaris to Thailand, Mexico and Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The door trim of side-collision test cars was notched in order to minimize the risk of injury, but the modification was not applied to production vehicles.
In December 2023, the company halted shipments of 64 models, including products sold by Mazda, Subaru, and two dozen models branded as Toyotas, after safety investigations uncovered misconduct far greater in scope than previously expected. In some models, the airbag control unit used in testing was different from the part installed on vehicles sold to the public. Results of speed tests and headrest impact tests had also been falsified. The cases went back as far as 1989 and became particularly prevalent after 2014. Affected markets included Japan as well as Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam. The company announced that it would shut down all four of its manufacturing plants in Japan until the end of January 2024, but production was halted until February through April 2024 when the shipment ban was also lifted.
Company timeline
The company was founded in 1907 as Hatsudoki Seizo Co., Ltd, but was officially incorporated as Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd on March 1, 1951. In 1963, the company introduced the Daihatsu Compagno, a car that utilized multiple body styles on one platform, and the long-running "D" logo was introduced. One year later, on September 1, 1964, Daihatsu built its millionth vehicle. In 1965, the Daihatsu Compagno Berlina was launched in the United Kingdom, marking the first time a Japanese car was marketed in the UK.
In 1967, Daihatsu began cooperating with Toyota Motor Corporation, and by 1968, the company celebrated the production of its one millionth Daihatsu kei car. The two millionth Daihatsu was built in 1969. In 1971, Daihatsu launched the first generation of its Delta Truck model in Japan, a Toyota-influenced six-ton cargo truck. By 1975, Daihatsu began supplying diesel engines to the SEMAL motor vehicle company of Portugal for their Portaro and Tagus 4X4 off-road vehicles.
The 1980s saw significant milestones for Daihatsu, including the production of its three millionth kei car by 1980. In 1987, the company entered the US automotive market with the Hijet, followed by the introduction of the Rocky and Charade in 1988. However, in 1992, Daihatsu ceased sales in the US and halted production of US-spec vehicles.
In 1998, Toyota acquired a controlling interest in Daihatsu, taking 51.2% of the company. Daihatsu's presence in Europe also started to dwindle in the 2010s, with the company announcing that sales of its vehicles would cease in Europe by January 31, 2013. In 2011, Daihatsu invested 20 billion yen (approximately $238.9 million) in a factory in Indonesia to produce low-cost cars.
In 2016, Toyota purchased Daihatsu's remaining assets, making Daihatsu a wholly owned subsidiary.
From Wikipedia’s article on Daihatsu, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5