Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. is a Japanese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

One of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers, the company was known for building three-wheeled vehicles and off-road vehicles, while currently the company offers a range of kei car models, along with kei trucks, kei vans and other larger small cars in Japan.

Because of the company's focus on kei cars, 70 percent of Daihatsu drivers in Japan are female. The company produces entry-level compact cars in Japan and Southeast Asia, which are often supplied to global emerging markets under the Toyota brand.

Daihatsu was officially formed on March 1, 1951, as a successor to Hatsudoki Seizo Co. Ltd, founded in 1907, as part of Hatsudoki's major restructuring. Hatsudoki's formation was largely influenced by the Engineering Department's faculty of Osaka University, to develop a gasoline-powered engine for small, stationary power plants.

The company's decision to focus on automobile production and related technologies was influenced by the early days of automobile manufacturing in Japan during the late 1920s and 1930s, when both Ford and General Motors had opened factories in Japan and enjoyed a considerable market share.

During the 1960s, Daihatsu began exporting its range to Europe, where it did not have major sales success until well into the 1980s. In Japan, the majority of Daihatsu models occupies the kei car segment.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, Daihatsu's sales in Europe plummeted, from 58.000 in 2007 to 12,000 in 2011. Daihatsu pulled out of the European market by 2013.

bee

1951-1952

The Daihatsu Bee is a three-wheeled microcar produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Daihatsu from 1951 until 1952.

Although Daihatsu had been producing motorized tricycles for carrying freight since 1930, and had also produced a small car for military use in 1937, the Bee was the first passenger car the company built for sale to the general public. The car was marketed from October 1951, shortly before the company changed its name from 'Hatsudoki Seizo Co' to Daihatsu. The Bee's model code is PCA.

The car had a two-door fibreglass, saloon body, and was popular as a taxi in Japan where licensing regulations permitted a lower charge per mile for three wheel vehicles than for four. 

Power was provided by a rear-mounted 540 cc OHV air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke engine. It was the first car in Japan with a horizontally opposed engine. The car was adapted from one of Daihatsu's three-wheeled delivery trucks. It sold very poorly, production was highly labor-intensive and ceased after only approximately 300 units were built.

hijet

The Daihatsu Hijet is a cab over microvan and kei truck produced and sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu since 1960. The Daihatsu Atrai, a passenger-specific version, was introduced in 1981. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for its trucks and vans (HiAce and Hilux), the name "Hijet" has been in use for Daihatsu's kei trucks and microvans since 1960, over two decades before Toyota took control. "Hijet", when transliterated into Japanese, is very similar to "Midget", one of Daihatsu's other mini-trucks. According to Daihatsu, the name "Hijet" was created to imply that the vehicle offers higher performance than the Midget. The Hijet competes in Japan with the Honda Acty, Mitsubishi Minicab, Nissan Clipper, Subaru Sambar and Suzuki Carry.

By November 2020, around 7.4 million Hijets had been sold in Japan.

compagno

The Daihatsu Compagno is an automobile which was produced by Daihatsu in Japan from 1963 to 1970. The name comes from the Italian word for "partner." The Compagno was designed to be offered in multiple bodystyles, and was introduced prior to the acquisition of Daihatsu by Toyota in 1967.

The Compagno was available as a two-door sedan, four-door sedan, two-door pickup truck, a three-door delivery van and a convertible. The first Compagno prototype was shown at the 1961 Tokyo Motor Show and was of an appearance reminiscent of the Fiat 1800/2100. This was not a very well balanced design and Vignale's production version ended up looking quite different. The Compagno used a ladder-type chassis instead of the more modern monocoque style, with torsion bar wishbone suspension at the front and semi-elliptical leaf springs for the rear axle. The Compagno is also the first Daihatsu car to use the famous "D" logo.

Models:

• 1963–1967 Compagno 800 Van (797 cc, 41 PS) three-door van; model F30V
• 1963–1967 Compagno 800 Berlina (797 cc, 41 PS) two-door sedan; model F30
• 1965–1970 Compagno 1000 Berlina (958 cc, 55 PS) two or four-door sedan; model F40 – later models have 58 PS
• 1965–1969 Compagno 1000 Truck (958 cc, 55 PS) two-door pickup truck; model F31P
• 1965–1969 Compagno Spider 1000 (958 cc, 65 PS) two-door convertible; model F40K

Maximum speed was around 110 km/h for the 800 cc model, 130 to 145 km/h for 1000 cc models. Late Spiders and GTs have a fuel injected engine.

consorte

The Daihatsu Consorte is a subcompact car sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu from 1969 to 1977. It was based on the Toyota Publica, and its name, meaning "consort" in Italian, reflected Daihatsu's newly established affiliation with Toyota while also continuing the theme started with the preceding Compagno ("companion").

The Consorte was a badge engineering of P30 Toyota Publica and was sold at the Toyota Corolla Store (previously called Toyota Publica Store until 1966 when the E10 Toyota Corolla appeared), a dealership network intended to exclusively sell small cars. This arrangement allowed Toyota to sell the Publica at recently acquired Daihatsu dealerships, giving Daihatsu a new regular car larger than kei class cars.

Unlike the Toyota Publica which was offered as 2-door sedan, 2-door pickup truck and 3-door wagon/van, the Consorte was only available as a 2-door sedan. The Consorte used a Daihatsu's in-house 1.0 L "FE" engine from the Compagno (while the Publica is powered by Toyota's 0.8–1.1 L engines) and mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.

charade

The Daihatsu Charade is a supermini car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Daihatsu from 1977 to 2000. It is considered by Daihatsu as a "large compact" or "supermini" car, to differentiate it from the smaller, urban-oriented kei cars in its line-up, such as the Daihatsu Mira. It replaced the Daihatsu Consorte, although the Charmant took over from the bigger-engined Consortes, and did not share a platform with a Toyota product.

rocky

The Daihatsu Rugger is an off-road vehicle built by Daihatsu between 1984 and 2002. The Rugger was also called the Rocky in most export markets, and Fourtrak in the United Kingdom. It has also received a series of different names elsewhere, which is why it is often referred to by its model designation (F70 for diesel variants or F80 for petrol variants) to distinguish it from its various siblings. In Japan and the US, the Rocky name refers to the smaller F300 series of Daihatsu vehicles.

The first model was sold from 1984 to 1993, replacing the F10/F20/F50/F60 series Taft. It was available in short wheelbase form with a convertible softtop or removable hardtop (F70/F80) and in long wheelbase form (F75/F85) with fibreglass top.

The second model was introduced in 1991 and became available for export the following year. The redesign, including a new dashboard, was carried out by Bertone, who also got to develop their own luxurious version to be sold in certain European markets.

kei

Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term kei is a shortening of kei-jidōsha, which translates to English as "light vehicle".

With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners enjoy lower tax and insurance rates, leading to a lower overall ownership cost. In most rural areas, they are also exempt from the general Japanese shako shōmeisho parking-space ownership requirement to legally buy a motor vehicle at all, as street parking is generally restricted in Japan. Japan's carmakers also make microvans and kei trucks within this legal category. Kei cars are favored by both the elderly and younger demographics, including youths and young families, due to their affordability and ease of use.

The kei category was created by the Japanese government in 1949, to stimulate both car ownership and growth of Japan's car industry. The regulations were revised multiple times until 1998, but since October 1998, the law consistently specifies a maximum vehicle length of 3.4 m, width of 1.48 m, height under 2.0 m and engine displacement under 660 cc. A "gentleman's agreement" between Japanese automakers and lawmakers also set a maximum power output of 64 PS.

Kei cars have been very successful in Japan since the 1960s, consisting of over one-third of domestic new-car sales in fiscal year 2016, after dropping from a record 40 percent market share in 2013. To reduce their market dominance, Japan increased taxes on the category by 50% in 2014. Despite this, in 2018, seven of the ten top-selling models were kei cars, including high-roof models with sliding doors such as the Honda N-Box, Suzuki Spacia, Nissan Dayz, and Daihatsu Tanto.

For exports, the vehicles are generally too small and specialized to be profitable. Notable exceptions exist; for instance, the Suzuki Alto and Daihatsu Cuore have been exported consistently since around 1980. The export version of the Suzuki Jimny, with upgrades to increase its width, has also gained significant popularity outside Japan.

Nearly all kei cars have been designed and manufactured in Japan, but some exceptions exist.

A version of the European-built Smart Fortwo was briefly imported and officially classified as a kei car with modifications to reduce its width. In addition, the British Caterham 7 160 and the Polski Fiat 126p (after 1990) also received such classification.

The Daihatsu P3 was a sports racing car built by Daihatsu in 1966. It was the predecessor of the P-5, and it featured a 1.3-litre twin-cam straight-four engine capable of producing around about 100 PS.

The P-3 was the first Daihatsu race car and it featured a 1.3-litre straight-four engine fitted in the front of the car, which was capable of producing up to 100 hp.

The P-3 made its competitive debut at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1966, which was held at Fuji Speedway, where it won the eponymous P3 category. It was also entered in the 1000 km of Suzuka in same year, where it did not finish the race. The following year, it was then run in the Suzuka 12 Hours; the No.6 car won the P1 class, and finished fourth overall. The P-3 was succeeded by the P-5, which was more powerful than the P-3.

The Daihatsu P-5 was a sports racing car built by Daihatsu in 1967. It was an evolution of the P-3, and featured a 1.3-litre twin-cam straight-four engine capable of producing around about 130-140 PS.

The P-5 was an updated version of the P-3, but featured a bigger 1.3-litre straight-four engine, fitted in the rear of the car. The engine had double overhead camshafts and two carburettors, and was capable of producing up to 140 hp.

 It was shown at the 14th Tokyo Motor Show in October 1967 as the Daihatsu P-5X.

Two P-5s were entered in the Japanese Grand Prix in 1967. It was entered in the 1000 km of Suzuka in 1968, finishing third. It was then run in the Japanese Grand Prix again, which was held at Fuji Speedway; the No.15 car won its class, and finished tenth overall. Toyota bought Daihatsu in 1969, but the car was used one last time; it finished second in the 1000 km of Suzuka that year.