Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. started selling a jointly developed minivehicle in Japan on Thursday, aiming to catch up with rivals such as Daihatsu Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp.
The new vehicle — sold under the brand name of DAYZ by Nissan and eK-Wagon by Mitsubishi Motors — offers better fuel-efficiency of 29.2 km per liter than those of competing models.
The two automakers are looking to boost their combined share in the minivehicle market to around 20 percent next year from their current 10 percent, Nissan Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga said at a news conference in Tokyo.