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Indus Motor to assemble Daihatsu car

TOKYO: Japanese minivehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd said on Friday that Pakistan's Indus Motor Co Ltd will start assembling automobiles in Karachi under licence from Daihatsu in the middle of this year.

Indus Motor, a joint venture owned 41.5 percent by Pakistan's House of Habib group and 12.5 percent each by Toyota Motor Corp and Toyota Tsusho Corp, plans to assemble 5,000 Daihatsu-designed 850cc Cuore cars in 2000 and 10,000 in 2001, a Daihatsu spokesman said.

Daihatsu is a Toyota Motor subsidiary.

Indus Motor assembles Toyota's Corolla sedans and Hilux pickup trucks, with output of 9,412 vehicles in 1998, a Toyota spokeswoman said.-Reuters