Toyota’s Production Rises for the First Time in 12 Months

One of the victims of the March earthquake and the Tsunami that followed was Japan’s auto industry and especially Toyota, which saw many of its suppliers hit hard by the dual natural disaster. The result was that production slowed down considerably, and sales took a hit all around the globe relegating the former No 1 carmaker in the world to third place. Read more »

Toyota Presents its First Minicar in Japan, the New Daihatsu-Based Pixi Space

Toyota has decided to enter Japan's popular minicar, or as it's locally known, "kei" car segment with the new Pixi Space, which is supplied by the firm's Daihatsu subsidiary under a minivehicle OEM agreement reached in September 2010.

The Pixis Space is offered in two distinct flavors the base model in "L" and "X" trims, and a sportier looking variant available as the "Custom X", "Custom G" and "Custom RS".

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Daihatsu Presents New Fuel-Efficient Mira e:S in Japan

Toyota's daughter brand of small vehicles, Daihatsu, has launched a new version of its Mira kei car called e:S incorporating a raft of new or revised technologies, all of which aim to improve fuel efficiency.

Daihatsu says that it has overhauled all existing aspects of the engine, the transmission, and the body structure, to make the most of energy efficiency and as a result, says that the Mira e:S is almost 40 percent more fuel efficient that current mini cars with engine displacements of up to 660 cc [0.6-liter].

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What a Charade...Daihatsu Takes Toyota Yaris Leftovers to Create a New Model

Daihatsu may be getting ready to pull out of the European market, but as a last call, the Japanese firm will introduce one more model to its range, the new Charade. And as you've probably guessed by now, the “new” Charade is in fact a Daihatsu-badged version of the outgoing Toyota Yaris, the successor of which, has already been introduced in Japan and will be showcased through a hybrid study in Geneva. Read more »

Daihatsu Launches New Move, Claims Title of Japan's Most Fuel Efficient Non-Hybrid Passenger Car

Toyota Motor Corp's small-car making subsidiary, Daihatsu, has unveiled a new generation of its Move mini in Japan. The five-door hatchback has been redesigned from the ground up and is claimed to be the most fuel efficient, non-hybrid, gasoline passenger car in Japan achieving up to 27.0km/liter, which is equal to 65.5 mpg US and 3.7 lt/100km.

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VIDEO: The Japanese Will Drift Anything, Even Mini Pickup Trucks

When you put the Kanji for "道楽攻暴　走行会" into the Google translator, it comes up as "Practice Committee debauchery violence attack". AltaVista comes up as "Dissipated attack violent travelling meeting".

Buddy Yuichi K got at some people for a translation and got "the debauchery-assail drive". No matter what, the words "violent", "debauchery", and "attack" feel just about right.

What it appears to be is Daihatsu farm trucks sliding around a track mad-crazy like. Enjoy the video of Japanese niche-racing at its finest. Oh, if anyone here is Japanese (or speaks it fluently), throw us the official meaning. Rock and roll.

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Daihatsu Unveils Move Conte Minicar in Japan

Japan’s biggest minicar maker, Daihatsu, introduced its new Move Conte on Monday, August 25. Although the 5-door Move Conte is slightly shorter than the Fiat 500 measuring in at just 3,395 mm in length, Daihatsu supports that the minicar will offer ample space for four passengers thanks to its innovative interior packaging. Offered in both front and four-wheel-drive versions, the Move Conte will be available with two 3-cylinder engines, the naturally aspirated KF-VE developing 58 and the turbocharged KF-DET producing 64 HP. -Continued

Daihatsu, which is 51 percent owned by Toyota, said that the yearly sales target is 50,000 Move Contes a year in Japan with the suggested retail prices ranging between 990,000 yen to 1.595 million yen (excluding consumption tax).

Limited Edition Daihatsu Terios “KIRI”

Daihatsu has revealed a limited-edition version of the Terios SUV called ‘Kiri’ that will be produced in 250 units for the UK market. Based on the Terios 1.5 S, the limited edition ‘Kiri’ adds a unique metallic green paint, roof rails, new five-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels wrapped around in 215/65 R16 tires, a hard spare wheel cover, leather-covered steering wheel, front fog lamps and special ‘Kiri’ graphics. On the road prices for the Terios “Kiri” start from £13,895. -Continued