Daihatsu and its parent, Toyota said Thursday they will manufacture and sell a multipurpose small vehicle they have jointly developed in Indonesia, Dow Jones reported.
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Though the two Japanese companies declined to comment on sales targets and other details, a Daihatsu spokesman told the news agency the new vehicle, designed for Indonesia and other ASEAN markets, will be affordable and easy to drive.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported the car is likely to have three rows of seats and carry five or more passengers, Dow Jones said, adding that PT Astra Daihatsu Motor, Daihatsu’s production base in Indonesia, will produce the small car.
Indonesia’s PT Astra International and PT Toyota-Astra Motor will start sales under both Daihatsu and Toyota brands from next year, Dow Jones said, adding that the latest tie-up is the third collaboration between Toyota and Daihatsu in overseas markets.
Dow Jones noted that Toyota started local production of a Daihatsu small car in Pakistan in 2000 and also began manufacturing a Daihatsu sports utility vehicle in Venezuela in 2001.
