Toyota to enter small car market

Sep 29, 2010 |

Tokyo, Sept. 28: Toyota Motor said on Tuesday that it will enter Japan’s competitive minicar market in a collaboration with its Daihatsu unit.

Small car specialist Daihatsu will supply Toyota three “minivehicle” models, with the first due to be available from autumn 2011, Toyota said in a statement.

The vehicles will be the first such models to carry a Toyota badge, and the auto giant is aiming for 60,000 sales annually. By procuring diminutive models from Daihatsu and selling them under its own nameplate, Toyota is set to broaden its product line, while Daihatsu will expand its sales network.

Small vehicles are much cheaper to run than regular vehicles in Japan, with lower road tax and engines that are no bigger than 660 cc. Like their global counterparts Japan’s automakers have staged a recovery from the lows hit in the financial crisis.

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