Toyota has confirmed that, by August 1 2016, it will have purchased all shares in Daihatsu, making the minivehicle automaker a wholly-owned subsidiary of the world’s largest car maker.
This announcement confirms the report that had Toyota, which already owned 51.2 per cent of the stocks, considering the possibility of fully acquiring the company.
As part of the deal, that could be worth around $3 billion, Toyota will delist all of Daihatsu’s shares on July 27 and hopes to increase the value of both brands. Additionally, making it a complete subsidiary of Toyota will also allow the brand’s small cars to adopt a unified strategy. As such, Daihatsu will take the lead in developing the small car model range for both automakers.
Nevertheless, it wants to keep each brand’s vehicles distinct, but the two companies will share advanced technologies and operations in a number of emerging markets.
In a statement, Toyota president Akio Toyoda said: “This is an opportunity for us both to stop feeling that we need to go it alone, and trust each other to take full advantage of our respective strengths. In other words, we can now focus on our core competencies. That, I believe, is the key to achieving and sustaining global competitiveness.”
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