Displayed in various Indonesian automotive exhibitions, Daihatsu's Thor is not sold in Indonesia yet. (Image via Tribunnews.com)

Daihatsu's 1,000cc Thor cannot go on Indonesia's road? What gives?

Moving on, Astra Daihatsu Motor (ADM) talked all-out about Daihatsu’s 1,000cc turbo-powered Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV), Thor. ADM revealed that, currently, Thor is not included in their “launching” plan.

ADM’s Marketing Director, Amelia Tjandra, stated that Thor had undergone its test drive recently. The test was conducted by Daihatsu’s research-and-development (RnD) team. The test aimed to see how 1,000cc engine would perform on Indonesia’s road.

However, looking at the test drive’s result, ADM decided to hold Thor for a while. Amelia admitted that she had not read the results yet, but the RnD department claimed that Thor’s performance was similar to those of 1,500cc.

Thor is equipped with sliding passenger doors. However, Amelia stated that the sliding door is already “old fashioned”, making it even less possible for Thor to enter the Indonesian market. She gave some examples such as the discontinued Honda’s Freed and Toyota’s Sienta whose sales volume flopped.

Amelia reasserted that the test drive was not for Thor to enter the Indonesian market but to see how the turbo-powered engine works. The study’s main objective was to see the difference between turbo-powered and non-turbo-powered engines. The Marketing Director revealed that the test drive did not include Thor only but also other cars with turbo-powered engines.

Regarding the plan for Daihatsu to release cars with 1,000cc turbo-powered engines in Indonesia, Amelia stated that Daihatsu should conduct deeper studies. Thor is sold exclusively in Japan, and it made its way on exhibition platform in Indonesia’s automotive shows.

Source: https://bit.ly/35jwj3J