Daihatsu Expects 30% Cut in Production Costs in Three Years

Daihatsu Motor Co. is targeting a 30% reduction in its minicar production costs by 2016, according to The Nikkei, which cites no sources.

The newspaper says the Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate intends to buy more foreign-made components many of them from South Korea and allow its manufacturing facilities to have greater control over sourcing the parts it uses.

The process, including product and parts development, will be monitored by a new 20-billion-yen ($196 million) center opening later this year in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. The 75,000-sq-meter facility will employ about 100 researchers who can closely track and assess parts development, according to the newspaper.

Daihatsu believes the center will be able to help it slash new-product development time to about one year from 2.5 years today. The Nikkei. says the company's auto plant in Kyushu aims to use the center to increase the proportion of parts it sources to 40% from 10% currently.