Daihatsu Motor held an opening ceremony for the Daihatsu Group Kyushu Development Centre on 5 August, attended by governor Ogawa of Fukuoka Prefecture and Kurume City mayor Narahara.
Construction of the Daihatsu Group Kyushu Development Centre commenced in November 2013 on a site adjacent to the Kurume Plant of Daihatsu Motor Kyushu, a subsidiary of Daihatsu, under the name Kurume Development Centre. The facility will now be renamed from Kurume Development Centre to Daihatsu Group Kyushu Development Centre in order to enhance group solidarity by further strengthening ties within the Daihatsu Group, including Daihatsu Kyushu.
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Construction for the facility began in November 2013 as a base for evaluation, analysis and technical development of platform components with a focus on engines for mini-vehicles. In March 2014, that extended to being a facility for testing engines, transmissions and other parts. That has been followed by the opening of a testing facility to evaluate the performance of parts mounted on vehicles in December 2014, and the establishment of a testing facility to evaluate components under different environmental conditions, including ASEAN countries in June 2015.
Today the centre employs around 200 people, and investment amounts to approximately JPY20bn (US$160.6m).
