Although Daihatsu is better known by Malaysians for its involvement with Perodua, the company also has its own business activities which are carried out through its own subsidiary, Daihatsu Malaysia Sdn Bhd (DMSB) which was established in the early 1980s.
Just as Mitsubishi Motors withdrew from marketing passenger cars when it tied up with Proton, Daihatsu also stopped selling its popular cars when it became Perodua’s technical partner. DMSB focussed on light commercial vehicles and built up a strong business in the segment, especially among the pasar malam traders.
It currently sells the Gran Max which has been in the market for over 10 years and has been constantly improved. This year sees a minor update to the model with added features for the convenience of the occupants. The updates are power windows, a multimedia system, reverse camera and 12V/24V Fast Charging USB port.
Pricing starts from RM73,888 and DMSB accepts bookings online at its website. The company also provides engineering services for the bodywork and accessories required by customers for their type of business.
“Daihatsu Malaysia aims to provide an overall driving experience in providing comfort, reliability, safety and above all convenience and practicality in every drive.” said Arman Mahadi, Managing Director of DMSB. “Convenience and practicality are one of the strongest consideration aspects for commercial vehicle usage. Thus, the concept behind the Gran Max Minor Change (MC) is to honour the hardworking workforce behind every successful business, particularly the men and women behind the wheel of the Gran Max”.
The power windows are on both doors and for the convenience of the driver, the passenger’s side window can also be operated from the right door. Part of the reason DMSB has decided to p[provide power windows is also to improve safety: the driver needs almost no effort to raise or lower the windows and can give more attention to driving.
Some vehicle operators spend long hours on the road and would appreciate having some music for their journey. With the multimedia system installed in the Gran Max, they will have infotainment and connectivity that will help the hours pass by faster. With touch controls, the driver can easily manage functions for entertainment or other features.
The multimedia system used the Android 10.0 operating system which has an interface familiar to most people as it is similar to what is on many portable devices. It has a double-DIN head unit player with tuner and can also obtain media from other sources using the AUX jack and USB port.
The multimedia system also has Bluetooth which allows pairing with mobile devices, specifically smartphones. It can enable driving mode for mobile phonebook syncing on calls and music playback, and can accept or end calls, even while driving.
Additionally, there’s Android and iOS PhoneLink for use with cable mirroring. This allows smartphone displays to be transferred onto the display of the infotainment system. This means that GPS route navigation systems can now be viewed on the larger screen, another benefit to motoring.
The multimedia system is linked to the reverse camera which displays its images on the 7-inch display. The availability of a reverse camera will certainly improve safety. Even though the Gran Max is compactly sized (for a commercial vehicle), there are still areas behind the vehicle which the driver cannot see. With the camera, parking and reversing can be done more easily and confidently in tight spaces.
