Toyota expects decision on Daihatsu cars launch in India by year-end

NOIDA, India (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will this week begin talks with Daihatsu Motor to build and sell small cars in India, as part of its efforts to get a 10 percent share of the passenger vehicle market by 2025, a company executive said.

A decision is likely to be taken by end of this year, said Kyoichi Tanada, Toyota's CEO of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. He did not give a timeline for the Daihatsu cars launch in India.

The world's biggest carmaker is to buy its remaining stake in Daihatsu as part of a strategy to strengthen its push into compact cars for emerging markets like India, where rival Maruti Suzuki dominates with its low-cost cars.

"In order to fight in the small car market we need more support from Daihatsu... Toyota by ourselves cannot develop it (small cars)," Tanada told Reuters. "From my area view point I would like to set up the brand in India first."

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee)