It's goodbye to Daihatsu, but daft names remain
Daihatsu's decision to pull out the UK is bad news for fans of cars with silly names, but new Great Wall cars such as the Wingle ensure that their legacy will live on says Peter Carroll.
October's UK car sales made sobering reading for most car manufacturers, with many recording substantial drops of over 30 per cent writes Peter Carroll.
But no figure was as miserable as Daihatsu's total of just three cars for the month*.
You'd think this quirky Japanese manufacturer would have joined fellow small car specialists Hyundai and Kia in posting big sales rises over the past couple of years.
After all, the recession forced buyers to downsize their cars and the scrappage scheme should have proved a boon to manufacturers of smaller cars.
In truth, Daihatsu was hit by the strength of the yen against the pound and it was no longer economically viable to continue exporting small cars like the Sirion, Materia and Terios to the UK, especially as sales are strong elsewhere in the world.
So, for the time being at least, it's goodbye Daihatsu - a shame as it has always offered fun cars, from the three cylinder turbo-charged Charade to the quirkily-styled Materia.
And, like many Japanese firms, it upheld the noble tradition of giving its vehicles daft names like the Tando, Rugger, Taft, Fellow Max and even Naked.
Fans of the brand can seek solace in the fact that the Sirion will continue to be imported to the UK, only badged as a Subaru Justy or Perodua Myvi.
Suzuki will be looking to hoover up customers in search of a small 4x4 while Nissan's Cube is an equally outlandish replacement for the wacky Materia.
Daihatsu's West Midlands-based UK importers IM Group have not ruled out a re-introduction of the brand's cars at a future date.
But in the meantime they are lining up imports of vehicles from Chinese auto maker Great Wall, possibly as early as next spring.
Great Wall is a privately owned motor company that has designed and built cars that meet EU standards of crash-worthiness.
Their vehicles are currently being tested and assessed as to their suitability for the UK market.
And if nothing else they are likely to spell good news for connoisseurs of daft car names: Great Wall's product roster currently includes the likes of the Voleex, Coolbear, Hover 5 and Wingle.
Well, the last one's got a certain 'wing' to it at least. . .
*Download the report for full sales figures
