Daihatsu Ayla could make sense in India.
For those of you who aren’t completely aware about Daihatsu, it is alright, as there are more car companies in Japan than there are people in Port Blair. Let us tell you that Daihatsu is the oldest carmaker in Japan, beginning operations back in 1907. They make every kind of car from hatchbacks, all the way to convertible two-seats roadsters. These days, Toyota is the parent company and Daihatsu is primarily aimed at emerging markets. By the looks of things, it seems that Toyota is considering bringing the Daihatsu brand to India. A recent report by Reuters said that the Executive Vice-President of Toyota, Yasumori Ihara, had asked Daihatsu’s management about developing affordable cars for the Indian market.
The Daihatsu Terios could rival the likes of the Renault Duster in India.
Toyota seems to have realised that some of their offerings in India aren’t doing as well as they had hoped (*cough* Etios *cough*). At the other end of the spectrum, we have the famous and unavoidable Innovas and Fortuners which are doing better than a fast-food eatery outside a college. Toyota has a 51% controlling stake in Daihatsu and the two brands rack up healthy sales in countries like Indonesia. Just like with the Renault Duster (which is actually a Dacia), cars like the Toyota Ayla and Avanza are actually Daihatsu products with a different badge.
This cute little roadster is the Daihatsu Copen (probably won’t be coming to India).
We think that cars like the Daihatsu Ayla and the Dahiatsu Terios seem like good propositions for India as these cars probably won’t cost a fortune to buy and run. But according to Reuters, the two companies haven’t yet concretised this plan and it might be a while before we see a Daihatsu car on our roads. Unlike Toyota, Daihatsu’s manufacturing techniques are less expensive and hence, the resulting products end up costing a lot lesser. That makes this idea quite tempting for all car buyers and us motoring journalists, alike.
The Etios siblings haven’t stirred up an hornets’ nest of bookings for Toyota.
We would love to see Daihatsu making its way to India, where B-segment cars sell more than bicycles. But what happens next is to be seen, so keep following Motoroids and get updated with all the happenings within this industry.
Source – Reuters
Have a crash test before launch. If base models scores anything less than 3 stars scrap the plan, dear Toyota.