Life & Style | Motoring

Daihatsu unveils Move Conte to tap minicar demand

Daihatsu Motor, Japan's biggest minicar maker, unveiled its new Move Conte yesterday in Japan as rising gasoline prices boost demand for fuel-efficient cars.

  • Bloomberg
  • Published: 23:12 August 25, 2008
  • Gulf News

Tokyo: Daihatsu Motor, Japan's biggest minicar maker, unveiled its new Move Conte yesterday in Japan as rising gasoline prices boost demand for fuel-efficient cars.

Daihatsu, 51 per cent owned by Toyota Motor, aims to sell 4,000 Move Contes a month in Japan, the Osaka-based automaker said in a statement on Monday. The car is priced between 1.04 million yen ($9,400) and 1.67 million yen.

The automaker is competing with minicar rival Suzuki Motor to tap Japan's rising demand for fuel-efficient vehicles as average gasoline prices in the country have climbed 24 per cent this year through July. Daihatsu's Tanto minicar, which gets as much as 20.5 kilometres per litre (48 miles per gallon), was the third-best selling vehicle in Japan last month.

"Right now, it seems consumers want only minicars or bicycles,'' said Yasuaki Iwamoto, an auto analyst at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.

Sales figures

"Higher gasoline prices are definitely boosting Daihatsu's sales.'' He rates the company "strong buy.''

Daihatsu's minicar sales have risen 1.4 per cent through July this year. That compares with a 3.3 decline in industrywide minicar sales in Japan. Suzuki had a 0.7 per cent decline in minicar sales in the same period. Daihatsu overtook Suzuki as Japan's biggest minicar maker in fiscal 2006 for the first time in 34 years.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 0 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

More from Motoring

Gulf News
Popular in Motoring
Life & Style editor's choice
Baby Boomer: BMW's X1
Articles

Baby Boomer: BMW's X1

Richard M Hammond gets acquainted with BMW's new baby X1

Popular in GNTV
Popular in Pictures