Daihatsu's Asian expansion

Daihatsu's Asian expansion

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. is set to boost its annual auto output in Southeast Asia by 70 percent to meet recovering demand in the region, a report said Friday.

The minicar maker, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp., plans to expand production in Malaysia and Indonesia to produce some 83,000 units in the year to next March, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said.

Daihatsu planned to hire 200 new workers at the Indonesian plant, bringing the total workforce there to 1,200 for the production of small recreational vehicles, the report said.

The firm planned to increase Indonesian production by 20 percent to some 6,000 units this year. Daihatsu had also upgraded its production target at its Malaysian plant to 77,000 units for the year, Nihon Keizai said.

Daihatsu could not be reached for comment.