Sayonara, Daihatsu Wake! Star of the quirkiest JDM car ad ever to end production in August 2022

Japan isn’t just the land of fire-breathing Japanese monsters (both from sea and land), it’s also a polite nation famed for some of the weirdest advertisements ever shown on TV.

Besides romanticising for long long maaan and summoning a demon with instant ramen, there is one commercial that probably tops them all and it features the Daihatsu Wake.

The Daihatsu Wake is a kei car that emphasizes its roominess and practicality which makes it a very novel idea for those who enjoy going outdoors. Its series of commercials play up with the car’s practicality by featuring the shenanigans of a guy named An-chan as he DIY’s his way into “inventing” impractical ways on his car.

Despite the commercials going viral all over the world, the Wake’s time is reaching its end. Daihatsu has announced that it will be stopping the production of its uniquely-tall kei car which was introduced in November 2014.

According to Daihatsu, the Wake's last day of production is on 11-August 2022 and sales will continue until stocks run out. In spite of the unique design that emphasises on roominess, the Wake’s overall sales pale in comparison to Daihatsu’s other kei offerings.

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Sales data shows that 6,625 units of the Wake were sold in the first half of 2022 while 1,057 units were sold in June 2022. The only model the Wake overtook in Daihatsu’s kei car stable was the Copen but that was a niche model to begin with.

Also read: All 1,000 units of the Daihatsu Copen 20th Anniversary Edition were sold out in 5 days!

Like most Daihatsu models, the Wake first began as a concept called the Deca Deca at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Apart from swapping the rear suicide doors for rear sliding doors, the Deca Deca concept’s design was largely similar to the production Wake.

Once it was launched a year later, the Wake literally took off in sales with 16,610 units sold in the first two months of its debut. It far exceeded its target of 5,000 units a month and in 2015, the Wake reached its peak of 50,711 units.

Unfortunately, sales quickly slipped as the years go by and the Wake is seen more as a novelty despite having the tallest interior room of any kei vehicle (1,455 mm).

Besides being offered as a Daihatsu, the Wake was also rebadged as the Toyota Pixis Mega and there was also a commercial variant called the Daihatsu Hijet Caddie.

Also read: 8 things you might not know about the Daihatsu Move beyond the Perodua Kenari's donor model

Complying with kei car regulations, the Wake is powered by a 660-cc naturally-aspirated (52 PS) or turbocharged (64 PS) 3-cylinder engine. Only a CVT-type transmission is offered that drives the front or all four wheels.

The Wake is a unique kei car that saw immediate success initially but as with all good things, it came to an end with no replacement announced. So, in a way, this article is sort of the wake of the Daihatsu Wake. I’ll see myself out then.

Also read: 10 weird Japanese cars that will blow your minds!