Sayanora everyone!

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/daihatsu-launched-the-new-move/ http://daihatsupassion.com/daihatsu-launched-the-new-move/#comments Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:11:01 +0000 Umut Gultekin http://daihatsupassion.com/?p=534 Daihatsu launched renewed MOVE, one of its smallest, yet most powerful weapons. The MOVE has been popular in Japan since its initial launch in 1995.

Highlights of the MOVE:

• Highest fuel efficiency for a gasoline vehicle, excluding hybrids (3.7 L/100 km)
• Idle-Stop System
• CVT transmission

For now, it looks like nothing important has changed except the decrease of the fuel consumption by 6%. I will post more updates and photos whenever I find them.

Here are some magnificent photos of this limited edition and some basic info about the customizations. If you would like to know more, you can view Terios Dolomite Brochure or visit Daihatsu Italy’s webpage about Terios Dolomite.

Exterior

• Burnished five spokes alloy rims
• Rigid wheel cover with Dolomite logo
• Handles, grille, fog lamp trims, and rear-view mirrors shells finished in glossed aluminium
• Little protection plates for trunk finished in aluminium
• Leather door panels and glove compartment
• Front and rear skid plates finished in glossed aluminium

Interior

• Fabric labels with Dolomite logo
• Seats with technical fabrics insert
• Leather gear level protection with laces
• Leather doors panels and glove compartment
• Wooden Sparco gear lever knot
• Customized car mats
• Front seats applied pockets with zipper
• Rear camera with display in the rear-view mirror

Although the car looks great, the engine still begs for modification.