Daihatsu to expand Toyota ties beyond existing KL, RI

Daihatsu to expand Toyota ties beyond existing KL, RI

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA): Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd president Takaya
Yamada said the company would like to expand its alliance with
Toyota Motor Corp beyond its existing tie-ups in Malaysia and
Indonesia.

"Our business in Malaysia and Indonesia is strong. We would
like to strengthen our relationship with Toyota in areas where we
have not yet set up our business," he told journalists at a
briefing, without providing further details.

The two companies have been considering ways to cooperate in
the Asian small car market in order to expand sales.

For 2001, Daihatsu targets offshore sales of 86,300 units, up
4.5 percent from the previous year, mainly due to rising sales of
it YRV model in Malaysia.

Yamada said the company aims to increase competitiveness in
Asia by also strengthening links with local firms, particularly
in Malaysia and Indonesia.

"Cooperation with local firms will be in the areas of
technical, production and human resources," he said, adding that
Daihatsu also hopes to discuss possible capital tie-ups with the
firms.

Yamada stressed that the small-car market is expanding all
over the world, and particularly in Europe, due to rising
concerns over the environment and energy costs.

"We expect small car demand in Europe will increase
particularly," he said.

"We also expect worldwide alliances in the small car business
will accelerate."

Vice-president Yoshiteru Yamanaka added that the company plans
to increase exports to Europe in the face of the rising euro.

In the domestic market, Yamada said Daihatsu aims to become
leader in the small-car market as soon as possible, with market
share seen rising to 27.8 percent in 2001 from 27.0 percent the
previous year.

The company plans to increase competitiveness by restructuring
its domestic dealer network this year, increasing models and
improving services, he said.

Daihatsu aims to cut costs by 30 percent over an unspecified
period.

Chairman Iichi Shimiya said competition will heat up with the
recently announced plan by Nissan Motor Co Ltd to enter the
small-car market "but on the other hand ... the (overall) small
car market is expanding".

Managing director Miehiro Morita said the company has no plan
to buy back its shares, despite the recent decision by Toyota to
buy back up to 75 million shares for some 250 billion yen,
helping to boost secondary market prices.

"We would like to use our capital to improve the business
itself," Morita said.