Rumour: Daihatsu to make Indian debut by 2018

Media reports suggest that Toyota is planning to launch the Daihatsu brand in India by the year 2018. Daihatsu will be introduced in the entry-level budget oriented segment of the Indian car market.

Toyota has been planning to launch Daihatsu cars in India from a fairly long time. But these plans took a hit when the company decided to stop any fresh investments in the country, due to the setback from the diesel car ban in Delhi and NCR. Once the said ban was lifted by the Supreme Court, Toyota relaxed its hold on fresh investments, thus opening up the path for new product and brand launches from the Japanese car maker.

Though there is no information yet about what all cars will be brought to the Indian market, the first launch is expected to be a compact MPV, probably the Daihatsu Sigra. Eventually, the company will launch competitors for the Maruti WagonR, Hyundai Grand i10, and Maruti Ertiga.

Interestingly, Daihatsu models will start selling under the Toyota brand name initially. This will enable them to use Toyota's existing dealership network. The company will eventually launch the Daihatsu brand in India, placing it below the Toyota portfolio. This project thus has a lead time of two or three years.

Source: Autocar India