Daihatsu Motor not to attend Shanghai auto show

Shanghai, March 5 (Gasgoo.com) The Beijing office of Japanese carmaker Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. said the company has decided not to attend show shows outside Japan this year, including the 2009 Shanghai auto show in April, citing the global financial crisis as the reason. The company will also delay introducing its mini Bego SUV to the Chinese market.

In 2008, the global sales of Daihatsu Motor grew 4% over the previous year, but its sales value and net profit fell for the first time in six years. It has reduced exports and cut the production of Toyota-badge vehicles. The low sales of its Xenia MPV in China are seen as the main reason for Daihatsu Motor to be absent from the Shanghai show.

Its mini urban SUV Bego is reportedly the next model that Daihatsu will introduce to the Chinese market, and sources said that many dealers in China have begun to order for the Daihatsu Bego SUV, though the carmaker's Beijing office has not confirmed the news report.

However, an insider of FAW Jilin Auto, a Chinese partner of Daihatsu Motor, revealed that the Bego SUV was originally scheduled for China launch in the first half of 2009, but the low sales of Xenia and other Daihatsu models have made the Japanese carmaker postpone the release of new models in China.

Daihatsu Motor is discussing with FAW Jilin Auto when to launch the Daihatsu Bego mini-SUV in the Chinese market. The two companies jointly launched the Xenia model two years ago and the 2009 Xenia in late 2008, but its sales are still in difficulty.