Bad news for Kiwi Daihatsu fans (and that includes OVERSTEER’s very own Allan Dick…) today, when Toyota New Zealand announced that it was discontinuing the brand in New Zealand.
According to TNZ’s General Manager of sales and operations, Steve Prangnell, the company is “regretfully unable to secure Daihatsu products that comply with future regulatory standards for New Zealand”. The move will not disadvantage existing Daihatsu owners and, as far as parts and service are concerned, it is still business as usual.
“We want to assure customers that we will honour our commitment to Daihatsu owners in New Zealand and they need not worry about ongoing support. Toyota dealers will continue to supply parts and provide comprehensive service support for those vehicles,” Prangnell said.
For the record, we here at OVERSTEER are gutted by the lack of Daihatsu’s in out future, because we utterly loved thrashing the tiny 3-cylinder Charade that was the default office hack in the days of DRIVER Magazine…
