Daihatsu currently sells new vehicles in approximately 10 countries. The decision to discontinue sales of new vehicles in Europe is the result of increasing development costs to comply with regulations in Europe, such as those related to CO2 emissions, and the appreciation of the yen against the Euro, which have had a negative impact on business results and made selling vehicles manufactured in Japan by Daihatsu no longer viable. It was made from the perspective of streamlining operations and focusing on specific areas of business.

Notification to distributors and dealers in Europe regarding Daihatsu’s decision to cease sales of new vehicles there began on January 13, 2011.

Reference

• No. of Daihatsu distributors in Europe: 10
• No. of Daihatsu dealers in Europe: Approx.1,000 (including 400 exclusive dealers)
• Sales of Daihatsu vehicles in Europe

Unit: thousand units

*Daihatsu survey; figures in parentheses indicate sales of Daihatsu vehicles in Europe as a percentage of total overseas sales

Source: http://www.daihatsu.com/news/n2011/11011401/index.html

I am devastated to announce that Daihatsu is leaving Europe by the end of January 2013.

Ofcourse, this may be a necessary step to cut the losses and get rid of the burden that comes with the overseas sales but then again, it means no more Daihatsu’s for the entire world except for Japan and some parts of Asia-Oceania.

It feels like losing a very dear friend. All my cars have been Daihatsus so far and I am very sad that I will not be driving a new one for a very, very long time, if not ever.

Note that the supply of spare parts and after-sales service will continue.

This probably means that the end of life is near for the current overseas models (I speculate), including Sirion, Terios, Materia, Cuore and Copen.

I will post updates as they come.

PS: Toyota, I hate you for forcing Daihatsu to become a local company. There, I said it.

Source: Wall Street Journal Asia ]]> http://daihatsupassion.com/daihatsu-is-leaving-europe/feed/ 1 http://daihatsupassion.com/theophilus-chins-daihatsu-chops/ http://daihatsupassion.com/theophilus-chins-daihatsu-chops/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:25:11 +0000 Umut Gultekin http://daihatsupassion.com/?p=282 What’s car chopping?

Car chopping is digital enhancement and rendering of cars. Theophilus Chin is the master of chopping.

Following are his artworks covering various Daihatsu models.

The car was developed by the Japan Electric Vehicle Club, a Tokyo based citizens’ group promoting the widespread use of electric cars.

Powered by 360 kilograms (8,320 cells) of Sanyo Electric Co.’s lithium ion batteries, the Mira EV, which departed Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district at 3 a.m. on Nov. 17, took two breaks on the way and crossed the finish line at Osaka’s Nipponbashi district at 4:26 p.m. the same day.

The achievement smashed the world record of 501 kilometers held by a U.S. firm, and it will be listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

“I am so excited to complete the whole distance,” said driver Tateuchi Tadashi, an automotive critic and group representative.

Source: http://www.scaryideas.com/content/9612/