Daihatsu

The name "Daihatsu" is a combination of the first kanji for Ōsaka (大) and the first of the word "engine manufacture" (発動機製造, hatsudōki seizō). In the new combination the reading of the "大" is changed from "ō" to "dai", giving "dai hatsu".[4]

Daihatsu was formed in March 1951 as a successor to Hatsudoki Seizo Co. Ltd, founded in 1907, as part of Hatsudoki's major restructure. Hatsudoki's formation was largely influenced by the Engineering Department's faculty of Osaka University, to develop a gasoline-powered engine for small, stationary power plants. From the beginning of the company until 1930, when a prototype three-wheeler truck was considered and proposed, Hatsudoki's focus was largely steam engines for Japanese National Railways and included rail carriages for passenger transportation. The company then focused on railroad diesel engines, working with Niigata Engineering, and Shinko Engineering Co., Ltd. Before the company began to manufacture automobiles, their primary Japanese competitor was Yanmar for diesel engines that weren't installed in a commercial truck to provide motivation.

The company's decision to focus on automobile production and related technologies was influenced by the early days of automobile manufacturing in Japan during the late 1920s and 1930s, when both Ford and GM had opened factories in Japan and enjoyed a considerable market share. Ford opened a factory at Yokohama in March 1925 and in 1927 GM opened Osaka Assembly until both factories were appropriated by the Imperial Japanese Government before World War 2.[5]

During the 1960s, Daihatsu began exporting its range to Europe, where it did not have major sales success until well into the 1980s. In Japan, many of Daihatsu's models are also known as kei jidōsha (or kei cars).

Daihatsu was an independent auto maker until Toyota became a major shareholder in 1967 as the Japanese government intended to open up the domestic market.[6] According to Toyota, it was first approached by Sanwa Bank, banker of Daihatsu.[7] In 1995, Toyota increased its shareholding in the company from 16.8 percent to 33.4 percent by acquiring shares from other shareholders: banks and insurance companies.[6] At the time, the company was producing mini-vehicles and some small cars under contract for Toyota.[6] Toyota, by owning more than a one-third stake, would be able to veto shareholder resolutions at the annual meeting.[6] In 1998, Toyota increased its holding in the company to 51.2 percent by purchasing shares from its major shareholders including financial institutions.[8]

In January 2011, Daihatsu announced that it would pull out of Europe by 2013, citing the persistently strong yen, which makes it difficult for the company to make a profit from its export business.[9] Following the financial crisis of 2007–2008 Daihatsu's sales in Europe plummeted, from 58,000 in 2007 to 12,000 in 2011.[10] In August 2016, Daihatsu became a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Daihatsu Midget Model DKA, 1957

• 1907 – Hatsudoki Seizo Co., Ltd. founded
• 1951 – Company renamed: Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
• 1963 – Daihatsu Compagno which utilized multiple bodystyles on one platform was presented. The long running D logo introduced.
• 1964 – The millionth Daihatsu is built on September 1.[11]
• 1965 – The Daihatsu Compagno Berlina went on sale in the United Kingdom, the first Japanese car to be marketed there.[12]
• 1967 – Starts cooperation with Toyota Motor Corporation
• 1969 – The two millionth Daihatsu is built.[13]
• 1971 – First generation of the Daihatsu Delta Truck model launched in Japan, a Toyota influenced four wheeled six ton cargo lorry.
• 1975 – Begins to supply diesel engines to the original SEMAL motor vehicle company of Portugal for the new PORTARO 4X4 and TAGUS 4X4 offroad vehicles.
• 1980 – Daihatsu builds its three millionth kei car[14]
• 1987 – Daihatsu enters the US automotive market with the Hijet
• 1988 – Daihatsu introduces the Rocky and Charade in the US market
• 1992 – Daihatsu shuts down US sales in February and ceases production of US-spec vehicles
• 1998 – Toyota gains a controlling interest (51.2%) in Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.
• 2011 – Daihatsu states that sales of Daihatsu motor cars will cease across Europe on January 31, 2013
• 2011 – Daihatsu invests 20 billion yen ($238.9 million) in Indonesia to build a factory that produces low-cost cars.[15] The construction had been initialized on 70,000 square meters on May 27, 2011 and would start operation at the end of 2012 for producing 100,000 cars per year.[16]
• 2016 – Toyota purchases Daihatsu's remaining assets, and therefore makes Daihatsu a wholly owned subsidiary[17]

Daihatsu's first export was in 1953, and by 1980 half a million Daihatsu vehicles had been exported.[18] In 1979 a European main office was established in Brussels, tasked with controlling and expanding Western European exports.[14] Since the late 1990s, its exports have been steadily contracting. This has been partially offset by the sale of Daihatsu vehicles through the Toyota channel, and the sale of technology to Malaysia's Perodua. Daihatsu has also supplied cars under different badges to various automakers in the past. The company currently provides engines and transmissions to Malaysia's Perodua, which manufactures and markets rebadged Daihatsu cars locally, and sold a small number of Perodua cars in the United Kingdom and Ireland until 2012.

Daihatsu has had a long-running development program for electric vehicles, beginning with the production of "pavilion cars" for the 1970 Osaka World Expo and continuing with the production of golf carts and vehicles for institutional use, such as the DBC-1.[28] An electric version of the company's Fellow Max kei car also followed, the beginning of a series of prototypes. The 1973 oil crisis provided further impetus and at the 20th Tokyo Motor Show (1973) Daihatsu displayed a 550 W electric trike (TR-503E),[29] the BCX-III electric car prototype and daihatsu's own EV1 .[30] Daihatsu showed more prototypes through the 1970s, for instance at the 1979 Sydney Motor Show, and then joined the Japanese Electric Vehicle Association's PREET program (Public Rent and Electronic Towncar) with an electric version of the Max Cuore kei car. The program allowed registered users access to the cars with a magnetized card and charged according to mileage used.[31]

In November 1974, Daihatsu released the Hallo (ES38V), a tilting trike powered by an electric motor and two 12V batteries.[32]

In December 2011, Daihatsu released the Pico EV Concept, a quadricycle powered by an electric motor.

The current hybrid vehicle technology is called Daihatsu Mild Hybrid System,[33] and is mainly used in the Hijet/Atrai Hybrid-IV.

In 1973, Daihatsu presented an electric tilting trike at the Tokyo Motor Show. This entered production in 1975 as the Hallo.[34] Daihatsu also released a petrol powered version using a 50 cc two-stroke engine.

Daihatsu is well known with its signature D logo. The D logo is debuted in September 1963 on the Compagno as the first automobile with the Daihatsu D logo, although from its establishment in 1951 until 1969, Daihatsu used the Ford-like logo, with Daihatsu vintage-style wordmark (outside Japan) and Daihatsu wordmark in katakana, written inside an ellips. This logo was used as Daihatsu's corporate logo and seen on Daihatsu product catalogues and brochures until November 1969. Thus, in the 1950s and 1960s Daihatsu was commonly referred to as Japan's Ford, and also as the Japanese equivalent to Ford. In December 1969, this logo was discontinued and Daihatsu officially used the D logo as its corporate logo. Except in Indonesia, the first Daihatsu logo was used in brochures until about 1977 or 1978. The famous D logo is a stylized, modernized version of the D in the earlier logo and resembles the da in katakana.

The D logo as the corporate logo (the white D placed inside the red rectangle), is used from late 1969 onwards. The first version of the D logo, surrounded with circle, used on Daihatsu automobiles from 1963 until 1979. From 1979 to 1989, the D logo is surrounded by a dark grey rectangle. In November 1989, following the launch of Toyota's famous current logo, the D logo is surrounded by an oval, and made in chrome. The chrome D logo is still used until today.

• Daihatsu (official site in Japanese)
• Daihatsu (English site)