Eight Japanese passenger car manufacturers recently disclosed data collated on Aug. 30 regarding their respective production and export figures for July 2017. Total domestic production volume from the eight companies increased by 1.4 percent year-on-year to 774,708 units. While exports fell slightly, domestic sales were strong, with five companies seeing increased sales figures over the...
Daihatsu
New Daihatsu 3D Printing Technique Enables Steel Casting With Sand Molds
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) has announced the development of a new technique that uses 3D printers to produce sand molds for cast parts. Applying a special coat to the sand makes it into a usable, highly thermal resistant artificial sand. Daihatsu Motor has also figured out how to use the artificial sand for steel...
Daihatsu to Optimize Parts Specification and Enhance Procurement System
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. plans to optimize specifications for each of the components in its vehicles by establishing specific scenarios to improve competitiveness over the medium to long term. Based on usage situations at its production bases in Japan and abroad, Daihatsu will decide on specifications to bring about optimal costing for about 100 components...
Daihatsu to Launch Country-Specific Car Designs for Developing Regions
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. plans to create varying, country-specific designs for a new next-generation car that the automaker plans to develop ahead of 2020. In emerging nations, design preferences vary from one country to another – even when the countries are in the same region. Daihatsu excels at developing vehicles in a short time frame,...
Prius Climbs Back to Top New Car Sales for First Time in Three Months
Toyota Motor Corp’s (TYO:7203) Prius reclaimed the top spot in May for best-selling vehicle among those with engine displacement above and below 660 cc. It is the first time in three months that the Prius has retaken the lead, with the new model Prius plug-in hybrid (PHV) launched in February contributing to the boosted sales....
Daihatsu to Offer Aftermarket Add-ons for Enhanced Accident Prevention
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) is making a full-fledged effort to develop aftermarket add-on safety devices The company aims to commercialize an erroneous start warning device using a drive recorder and an apparatus to prevent driving in reverse gear, as well as a system that uses car navigation data to warn against driving against traffic...
Daihatsu Pushes Safety, Lightness and Low Cost With Fully Upgraded Mira e:S
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) announced on May 9 the same-day launch of the fully upgraded kei-class light automobile Mira e:S, marking the model’s first full redesign in about six years. It achieves a fuel economy of 35.2 kilometers per liter based on Japan’s JC08 testing standard and comes at a reasonable price of 840,000...
Toyota Group Global Sales Hit 10.25M Units for 2016 – Most Ever
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) announced on April 27 that group global sales for fiscal 2016 stood at 10.25 million units, increasing 1.6 percent year-on-year. Including figures for Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. and Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205), this marks the highest number of units sold in one year by Toyota Group to date. The group’s previous...
Daihatsu Completes R&D Center in Indonesia
PT Astra Daihatsu Motor (ADM), an Indonesian-based subsidiary of Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd., held a ceremony on April 10 to commemorate the completion of its R&D center. The day served also as celebration of the local subsidiary’s having reached 5 million vehicles in cumulative production. The R&D center is located within the premises of the...
2016 Sees Second Highest Number of Recalls in Japan – MLIT
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced on April 7 that a total of 15,848,401 vehicles were recalled in Japan in fiscal 2016. Driven by the recall of all automobiles outfitted with Takata Corp. (TYO:7312) airbags, it is the second highest recall count to date, behind that of fiscal 2015. However, the...
Prius Claims Back Top Spot in New Car Sales Rankings
The Toyota Prius was the best-selling new car in Japan in fiscal 2016. It is the first time in five years that the Prius has topped the domestic new car sales rankings, coming partly due to a market-expanding strong first-half performance. The Honda N-Box came in second for the second year in a row, followed...
Major Passenger Automakers Show Strong Production and Export Figures for February
Eight Japanese passenger car manufacturers on March 29 announced their respective output and export figures for February 2017. All the companies posted higher numbers for overseas production over the previous year thanks to strong performance in North America, China and elsewhere in Asia, as well as other major markets. Six of the companies set new...
METI Holds Test Ride Event for Driving Safety Support Systems of Eight Japanese Automakers
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on March 22 held in-house test drives of vehicles featuring driving safety support systems (DSSS), something that the Japanese government is working to promulgate. Eight passenger car manufacturers provided vehicles equipped with automatic braking and other features, with METI parliamentary vice-ministers and members of the press trying...
Four Japanese Automakers Set Record November High for Global Sales
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203), Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201), Suzuki Motor Corp. (TYO:7269) and Mazda Motor Corp. (TYO:7261) hit record-high worldwide sales for the month of November 2016. Excluding Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (TYO:7270), it made for new high-water marks for four out of Japan’s six passenger vehicle manufacturers....
November Global Production Up 11.5% for Eight Japanese Passenger Car Makers
A total of eight Japanese passenger vehicle manufacturers saw record numbers in production and exports for November 2016. The combined global production volume of these eight companies showed a year-on-year increase of 11.5 percent, at a total of 2,555,811 vehicles. One manufacturer after another showed strong performance in foreign production for November, setting new records...
Denso Develops World’s Smallest Stereo Image Sensor
Denso Corp. (TYO:6902) recently developed the world’s smallest stereo image sensor. The company announced on Dec. 27, 2016, that the sensor will be adopted by Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) for use in Smart Assist 3, a collision avoidance system. Smart Assist 3 is used in the Tanto, a kei-class light automobile that was released...
Daihatsu to Introduce Crash Avoidance System for Cars in Emerging Markets
Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. plans to equip small passenger vehicles for emerging countries with Smart Assist, the company’s proprietary collision avoidance assist system. Daihatsu aims to strengthen product competitiveness and to help reduce the number of accidents by providing at low cost an advanced safety system, which reflects each country’s traffic environment and user needs....
Toyota Eyes New Global Sales Benchmark for 2017, Group Forecasts Its Second Highest on Record
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) announced its global sales plans on Dec. 15 for 2017. Excluding group companies Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) and Hino Motors Ltd. (TYO:7205), Toyota – on a standalone basis – is looking to sell a record 9.26 million vehicles, up 1 percent compared to its forecast for 2016. The higher benchmark...
Toyota Group Forecasts Record Global Production in 2017
Toyota Motor Corp. (TYO:7203) announced sales and production plans on Dec. 15 for calendar year 2017. Global production plans of 10.366 million vehicles include production figures for Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7262) and Hino Motors Ltd. (7205). The plan is 1 percent above the forecast for 2016 and targeted to be a record that exceeds...
