The car was developed to compete with recent very basic utility vehicles developed by Ford and GM specifically for sale in East Asia, with the intent of opening new markets there and in Africa.

[1] In Finland a truck called the Teijo, closely related to the EA-489, was built by the Wihuri Group from 1975 until 1976.

It was evaluated for production in the following countries: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey and Mexico.

It was built and sold in Turkey as the EA489, in the Philippines as the Trakbayan ("Country Truck" in Filipino), in Indonesia as the Mitra ("Partner"), and in Mexico as the Hormiga ("Ant" in Spanish).

Garuda Mataram Motor Company in Jakarta, featured the cowl of a Volkswagen Type 2 (T2b).