Of nearly 40% of passenger cars which are sold in the Japanese automobile market, another new mini car model had been released. The model is "MIRA TOCOT" of Daihatsu which is a minicar car manufacturer based in Toyota. Usually, majority of the staff involved in the development of cars are men, and women only contribute their opinion throughout the car development stage. However for MIRA TOCOT, the team was led by women from the initial stages of product planning. MIRA TOCOT, which is released as a car for girls and inspired by girls, is not just a “cute car”.
Attracting girl's heart with essential great features instead of decorations
On 25th June, an event for the official release of MIRA TOCOT’s was held at a hotel at Odaiba, Tokyo, a popular sightseeing spots for Asian travelers. The main target user of this model is "young lady who will be buying their first car". Daihatsu officials predict that “80% of the MIRA TOCOT drivers will be women”, emphasizing that this model is specially designed for women.
However, the actual design of MIRA TOCOT which make it suitable for woman is exceptionally simple. The cute appearance of MIRA TOCOT consists of a pair of round headlamps and tail lamps and the body color, which has made it into a model with linear form.
Why was MIRA TOCOT designed in this way?
"If we’re talking about a woman’s car, the most common one will be a car which decorated with many cute decoration items. However, recently, young women do not prefer an item which appears to be cutely decorated only. Instead, they want an item which is essentially made with a great fashion sense."
In the initial stage of developing MIRA TOCOT, Daihatsu formed a team of only women in order to plan and decide the initial concept of the car. The purpose of the team is to utilize womanly senses to create the car design. The abovementioned is the idea from one of the members of the team.
The balance between beauty and convenience is the foundation of the “For Woman” concept of the car
The car is designed to have a streamline shape instead of the round shape which most women like, because of that the team emphasized on the high functionalities of the car rather than focus on the appearance only. The interior is wider as the back of the car roof is straightened. In addition, the windows of the rear doors were designed into a square shape in order to expand the area as big as possible. This feature can help to reduce the blind spot from the driver’s seat as much as possible to allow the driver to drive safely.
However, in Japan there are already quite a few mini cars that emphasize the functionality. What could be the difference between MIRA TOCOT and all these cars?
"There is no conflict between “pursuing functionality” and “pursuing a lovely appearance”. MIRA TOCOT refines the design of the car thoroughly to a high level. All the features, including the car color, roundness, the interior, even the character pattern of the speedometer are made of fine quality. " (by MIRA TOCOT’s designer)
MIRA TOCOT is not only a “cute car”, instead it is a model which pushes the standards of how cute a car can be. If this car is on sale in Malaysia, how much are you willing to pay?
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