The names might seem comical to those outside Japan, but the new Tank and Roomy people carriers have been developed to keep Toyota at the top of a Japanese market where consumer tastes are changing.
Both these 3.7m long MPVs are supplied by Daihatsu, the firm manufacturing them at one of its Ikeda plants close to company headquarters in Osaka. The Tank and Roomy are in fact the twins of two new Daihatsu models, the Thor and Thor Custom.
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All four models have electric sliding doors on their sides, there are both front- and all-wheel-drive variants, and power comes from a new 1.0-litre turbocharged engine. Their size, economy and ease of access should help attract yet more older buyers to both brands, with Japanese customers increasingly shunning sedans and SUVs. Excluding mini-vehicles, the Nissan Serena MPV was the market’s number three best seller in October behind the Prius range and (Toyota) Aqua. The best placed SUV was the Honda Vezel in eleventh position.
The Tank and Roomy will be restricted to Japan and retailed via the Toyota, Toyota Corolla, Toyopet and Netz dealer networks. TMC says it is hoping for a combined 7,500 sales a month, while DMC has set a target of 1,000 units per month for the Thor and Custom.
