Daihatsu Record Sales

Compact car specialist, Daihatsu, is enjoying a 53.3 per cent passenger car sales increase so far this year with no sign of any drop in demand.

In fact, March – the UK’s biggest month for overall sales – showed a 60.8 per cent increase.

Registrations were 1,024 units compared with 637 sales in March 2006, while Daihatsu’s year-to-date sales stand at 1,464 cars.

“This is even better news than it first appears,” said Daihatsu Vehicle Distributors, Managing Director, Paul Tunnicliffe.

“Our last best March for car sales was in 1999 when we had eight model lines. Now, we are down to two vehicles, the latest Terios 4x4 and Sirion supermini.”

He added: “We are virtually out of Charade stock now and the new Copen 1.3 litre sports car, which is receiving rave reviews, is only just going out to its first customers so had little impact on March sales.  With ever-rising motoring costs and greater emphasis on environmental issues, Daihatsu’s appeal as a value-for-money, fuel-efficient manufacturer is stronger than ever.”

Meanwhile, Daihatsu dealers gave the importer high marks in the latest Retail Motor Industry Federation Dealer Attitude Survey.

The survey findings show Daihatsu management’s “open and honest approach” is boosting network expansion – currently at 105 sales outlets and on target for 145 dealers.

Daihatsu dealers score the franchise highly for profitability, taking their opinions into account, the quality of advertising, competence of service field staff and lack of interference in the daily running of their businesses.

The survey also concluded that a Daihatsu franchise increased profit potential not only in the last 12 months but shows every sign of continuing this trend.

Operations Director, Paul Hegarty, said: “We want to recruit new customer-focused appointments in the right locations and generate new business in areas where good local dealers have been culled by manufacturers. By working together in partnership with our expanding dealer network we can both enjoy growth and profitability.”