When it was introduced, it was the largest Daihatsu passenger vehicle sold in Japan (until the introduction of the Delta Wide minivan in 1982), with the Charade supermini in the middle, and the Mira kei car as the smallest.

[2] The Charmant was marketed with luxury orientation by the use of dual headlights which was only available for higher class cars at the time.

A minor facelift appeared in November 1976 with a refreshed front grille, two new grades for the saloons; Grand Custom (GC) and Sporty Custom (SC), combined with another engine tweak for the saloons to pass the 1976 emission regulation (the vans had less stringent emission standards).

The older engines were remained for the vans, but were renamed 3K-HJ and T-J because of another round of modifications to pass the 1978 emission regulation.

It was the first Daihatsu to be sold in Iceland, where a large number of surplus cars from the Netherlands were brought in the summer of 1979.

[9] For the export model, the conventional 1.6-litre was fitted in the Charmant, instead of the learn-burn 12T-U version used for the domestic Japanese market.

A new Charmant was launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1981[12] with new squarer bodywork that was somewhat outmoded already when being introduced, as was its front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.

[14] In the export, the 1.6-litre 1.6 L (1,588 cc) 2T engine was also available; power outputs ranged from 76 to 83 PS (56 to 61 kW) depending on compression ratios and intended markets.

Trim levels were LD, LC, LE, and LGX; these continued until 1987 when the range was discontinued in the United Kingdom and most other export markets.

[13] The Charmant production ended in late 1987, while the shared Toyota Corolla platform changed to front-wheel drive in 1983 (although the estate/van continued until 1987, also built by Daihatsu from September 1984).