TTAC Busts Embargo Of Two Unobtainable Cars On The Same Day

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Nissan Dayz or Mitsubishi eK Wagon?

TTAC finally found the holy grail of the auto-blogosphere: We busted a stringent embargo that won’t lift for more than two weeks. We did that on cars that are unobtainable for most. We blew the tarps not off one, but two makes. We didn’t find a dealer brochure, we caught the cars while they were made.


This is where they keep all the tooling

It was easier than it sounds. Last Friday, I was invited to a super-secret briefing about an upcoming car at Nissan. I had to swear on a stack of bibles and the scriptures of various far-eastern religions that I wouldn’t write anything before June 6. Actually, I didn’t go.

Nissan Dayz or Mitsubishi eK Wagon? No idea

That way, I didn’t perjure myself, and instead I got up at 5:30 today in the morning to go to Mizushima, near Hiroshima. Mizushima is home to one of Mitsubishi’s two Japanese car plants, and as of today, it is home to two new cars you can’t buy. Unless you come to Japan. With TTAC in attendance, Mitsubishi cranked up the line today for the cars that will go on sale when the embargo lifts, on June 6.

Definitely a Nissan

Three years ago, Nissan and Mitsubishi started a cooperation. One of the projects was a joint kei car, one of those Japanese oddities with a pint-sized engine. Instead of rebadging minimobiles made by Suzuki and Mitsubishi, as it had done in the past, Nissan co-developed a new kei car with Mitsubishi. The car is made in the Mizushima plant and sold as the Nissan DAYZ and the Mitsubishi eK Wagon. The cars have small body changes on the outside – like a slightly different grille. On the inside, they are mostly identical. But then, all kei cars are quite similar on the inside, the tight specs (not more than 11.2 ft long, no more than 4.9 ft wide, engine displacement not over 660 cc, power not more than 63 hp) don’t leave much room for self-actualization.

High grade: Dayz Highway Star

Why joint development? “Having a car built somewhere else caps profits in the long run,” a Mitsubishi official tells me today. “Own development can be quite profitable if sales take off in a big way, and it can be much too expensive when sales don’t take off.”

Make my Dayz

Sharing development costs while realizing scale effects when the car is successful is seen as a good strategy. The kei segment is big in Japan and growing. Nearly 40 percent of all cars sold in the island nation are keis. However, that’s mostly it. Keis are a Japanese phenomenon, and nearly non-existent outside of Japan. This stunts their global growth potential.

Best-Selling Kei Cars Japan April 2013RankMakeModelAprilYoYYearYoY1DaihatsuMove18,60154%79,39436%2HondaNbox16,382-3%85,98340%3SuzukiWagon R13,78713%73,7597%4DaihatsuMira11,848-24%55,582-36%5SuzukiAlto10,8707%41,702-5%6HondaN19,618N/A46,926N/A7DaihatsuTanto9,532-29%49,892-19%8SuzukiSpacia8,112N/A15,357N/A9NissanMoco4,232-32%27,531-3%10ToyotaPixis2,659238%10,22818%11SubaruStella1,76176%9,32013%12SuzukiMR Wagon1,537-62%13,058-7%13SuzukiEvery Wagon1,496-22%8,0271%14NissanRook1,282-72%15,333-27%15MitsubishieK1,257-33%9,673-20%

Neither Nissan nor Mitsubishi want to give production targets, at least not before the official launch on June 6. The back of an envelope quickly reveals how many they want .to build. They are targeting 20 percent market share, together. That would be 20 percent of 2 million, or some 30,000 a month. Currently, some 230,000 keis are sold annually among Nissan and Mitsubishi, That would be around 20,000 a month. Somewhere in that neighborhood.

We’ll try to snag one for a from-the-backseat car review when one is available,.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Kuman Kuman on May 21, 2013

    why oh why cant we get these cars outside japan... i hate to have Suzuki Wagon R ( 2nd generation, 1000cc ) and KIA picanto /Hyundai i10 ( both 1200 cc ) as the only choice for economical small cars here in indonesia...

  • BrentNelson BrentNelson on May 21, 2013

    concentrate on actual point which present by this article i appreciate this post for this great report which u mention.

  • The Oracle Well, we’re 3-4 years in with the Telluride and right around the time the long term durability issues start to really take hold. This is sad.
  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
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