Daihatsu unveils Move Conte to tap minicar demand

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.