Daihatsu

It all started with the launch of an engine production company in Japan in 1907, the Hatsudoki Seizo firm. It is the oldest Japanese car manufacturer, but it was only in 1951, that the Daihatsu name was adopted and that the first vehicles with this badge were released.

Daihatsu build mostly small cars and off-road vehicles. After a tie-up with Toyota, in 1967, this company ended up owning 51% of Daihatsu in 1999.

Due to low sales rates, Daihatsu withdrew its operations from the Australian market in 2006. Just a few years later, in 2011, the company announced its withdrawal from the European market for the year 2013.