Regarding the Appointment of President

Mar. 01, 2024
Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.

Today, at the headquarters of Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., we made a statement on our new structure. We would like to inform you of the summary of the message from President Masahiro Inoue as follows.


Today, I have been appointed president of Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. I am both thrilled to be added to the Daihatsu team as well as humbled by the weight of this responsibility.

When I was younger, I used to help deliver products to customers in a mini one-box vehicle for my family business, so Daihatsu’s mini vehicles are very close to me.
In addition, I was in South America until last month, and I learned about budgetary costs and the concept of Simple, Slim and Compact (SSC) MONODUKURI from Daihatsu, which is in charge of the emerging-market compact car business, and I was exposed to and came to respect Daihatsu’s high quality and affordability centered on mini vehicles.

Since its foundation, Daihatsu has supported people’s lives with small cars, which are called Japan’s “national car” suited to the country’s land and roads. Today, Daihatsu provides many vehicles that serve as a high-quality and affordable way of mobility even in emerging countries such as Southeast Asia. There is no other company in the Toyota Group that can take on this direction and role other than Daihatsu.
However, although the quality and quantity of work that each site is responsible for has increased during the growth process, Daihatsu has not been able to take in the opinions and problems of each site and has instead continued to work while leaving issues unresolved. I understand that this is the background of recent procedural irregularities. I think this phenomenon is similar to the situation at Toyota, which caused quality problems in the U.S. during the period of rapid unit expansion in 2009. For now, we would like to pause, correct the issues, and start to move forward again.

To accomplish this, we would like to redefine Daihatsu’s role within the Toyota Group and reinvent it as a “mobility company centered on small cars,” aiming to help bring happiness and smiles to Daihatsu customers, sales companies, sub-dealers, suppliers, logistics companies, and their families, based on the vision of “staying close to our customers and enriching their lives.” The specific direction of the business will be announced again in the new fiscal year.

Lastly, the first thing I would like to declare as president is that the four directors who will be the new leaders will always share the same objectives and communicate the management policy with “one voice”. In the highly competitive global automotive industry, there is no time to waste energy and time on groundwork and being timid. Under the slogans “Peace of mind at work,” “Assignment by role and responsibility” and " Genba oriented,” we will work as “one team” and aim to be a company full of smiles. I would like to start by going to the sites myself, talking to our employees, gaining their trust, and hearing their true feelings.

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