A SLOWDOWN in the car market has prompted Daihatsu to reduce prices of the Terios by more than £2,000 and offer the Charade, Sirion and Move models with air conditioning or automatic transmission at no extra cost in what the company is calling one of its most aggressive sales programmes yet.

To the end of September Daihatsu passenger car sales were up 24% this year and the Dover-based importer says its heading for a second successive record sales year. A contributing factor to the down-pricing, spec-boosting decision has been Sterling's strength and the weakness of the Yen.

Price reductions have been introduced across the Terios range. The 1.3-litre 1999 four-wheel-drive Terios costs £9,995 - a reduction of £2,300 from £12,295. The price of the better-equipped Terios+ has been reduced from £14,095 to £11,995. A special edition Terios SE is now £12,495, down from £14,725.

Daihatsu is to permanently reintroduce free automatic transmission on the Sirion. And until existing stocks are exhausted, 1.3-litre Charades will be available with free automatic transmission worth £1,000 or air conditioning, worth £600. Current Moves will be available with a either free air conditioning or automatic transmission.