New Daihatsus dwindle

Daihatsu buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to find the car of their choice because dealers are running out of stock.

IM Group, the company that imports Daihatsus, hasn't brought in any new cars since last summer because of the poor exchange rate between the pound and the yen.

An IM spokesman admitted that numbers of new Daihatsus in the UK 'are limited'.

However, a Daihatsu dealer told one of our What Car? mystery shoppers: 'We are out of new Daihatsus, as are most dealers in the UK.

'The manufacturer hasn't exported any new cars to the UK for a while and will not be doing so for the foreseeable future.'

According to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Daihatsu sold 22 cars in January, compared with 97 in same period 12 months earlier.

Daihatsu has around 100 dealers in the UK and currently sells the Charade, Materia and Sirion superminis, the Copen convertible and Terios 4x4.