Toyota has announced that it will buy the rest of Daihatsu in an all-stock deal worth about $3 billion. Toyota already owns about 51% of Daihatsu, and the deal is said to enable Daihatsu to more easily adopt next-generation technologies developed by Toyota. "We see this as the perfect opportunity to cement our relationship with Toyota, and, by doing so, to embark on a new period of growth, and to elevate the Daihatsu brand to a global standard," Daihatsu said in a statement. The deal is due to be completed by July 26.
Doesn't sound good. Further integration into the Toyota behemoth may well extinguish the individual, quirky nature of Daihatsu that makes it so delightful. Another victim of globalisation? Hope I'm wrong.
I guess we'll see over time how it all pans out. Suzuki is the main competitor to Daihatsu in the market for small cars, and the President of Suzuki has gone on record to say that he sees this buyout as a "major threat", so I guess there's something in it. However, it remains to be seen whether Toyota will use it only as a way to sell low-cost small cars into emerging markets such as India, or whether they will continue to push the boundaries with small car design for a wider international market. Daihatsu, of course, will simply become a brand of Toyota and will cease to exist as a separate company, so let's hope that Toyota makes the most of it.
