Daihatsu Motor is developing a hybrid electric vehicle based on its Hijet Cargo commercial mini van to bring to market as early as summer 2005.

Daihatsu specializes in small, inexpensive passenger cars, producing some 700,000 Daihatsu cars per year, as well as about 100,000 Toyotas, which it assembles on a consignment basis. It also supplies about 20,000 OEM cars per year for Toyota (including the Cami and Duet models) based on Daihatsu models. Toyota has a controlling 51% stake in Daihatsu.

Production is scheduled to begin this December in Japan. Daihatsu plans to showcase the new hybrid electric vehicle at the 2004 Tokyo Motor Show this November.

More details as I can get them.