[3] The British company had high hopes for its newly acquired subsidiary at a time when, they reported to the UK press, Italian Innocenti sales were second only to those of Fiat and ahead of Volkswagen and Renault:[3] there was talk of further increasing annual production from 56,452 in 1971 to 100,000.

[4] Demonstrating their ambitions, the British company installed as managing director one of their youngest UK based senior executives, the 32-year-old former financial controller Geoffrey Robinson.

Exports, which had been carried out mainly by British Leyland's local concessionaires, began drying up in the early eighties as BL did not want to see internal competition from the Innocenti Mini.

Having lost their engine supply as well as their entire export dealer net, Innocenti found themselves without a product and the means of selling it.

In addition to providing drivetrains, Daihatsu gave Innocenti access to their burgeoning sales network, entering France, Belgium and Switzerland at first.

Daihatsu gained access to the Italian market, and a means of entry into other European nations with steep barriers for Japanese-made cars.

[8] And so it was that, from model year 1983 on, the Innocenti was completely re-engineered, now using the Daihatsu Charade's 993 cc three-cylinder engine and an entirely new suspension.

[14] After the purchase of the Lambretta brand by Innocenti SA, now a Swiss consortium, a new scooter model was designed and launched.

[16][17] Lambretta is developing production facilities in India, teaming up with Lohia Auto of Noida and the Bird Group of New Delhi.