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Toyota to Design Low Budget Car with Daihatsu

After several efforts to improve its offering in the green car sector, Japanese manufacturer Toyota is now willing to design a low budget model that would sell below $11,000 in developing markets such as China and India. The Nikkei business daily wrote that the model will be developed in collaboration with Daihatsu Motor Company in which Toyota holds a 51.2 percent stake.

Details on Toyota's projects are still unconfirmed but, if we are to trust current rumors, the company intends to launch the new model in the first half of the next decade.

Approximately one year ago, a similar rumor emerged as well, but at that time, it was claiming Toyota and Daihatsu are actually working on a $5,000 model. Just as in today's case, the cheap model was aimed at India and Brazil and was projected to be manufactured in Bangalore.

Toyota owns a single production plant in Bangalore, but a second one is currently in construction, reportedly due to open in 2010. According to Autonews, the existing plant has an annual production capacity of approximately 100,000 vehicles, with the new facility aiming to boost the number of cars targeting emerging markets.

Daihatsu on the other hand is encountering difficulties in dealing with the economic recession and decided to withdraw from China in an attempt to cut costs to a minimum. Production and sales were handed over to its local Chinese partner FAW. The Xenia, a compact multipurpose vehicle based on Toyota Avenza, will still be sold in China but wearing FAW's badge. It will be produced by FAW Jilin Auto, a division of FAW Group,
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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