It makes a difference. Modern cars are designed in a way that you should be able to open the doors without much force. That AFAIK goes into the NCAP ratings.

You can only have that feature if the car unlocks itself. And IMHO that makes sense.

To be honest I don't understand what the problem is. When the airbags are deployed send a signal to the central locking to open the doors. Deployed airbags are a clear signal that there was an accident.

No need to pay more. Elsewhere the Toyota models are equipped with ESP and 6 airbags at no premium, and they cost as much as their continental competitors. It is just that Toyota wants to make more profit.

You don't understand it. It has nothing to do with the price of gas, lunch, water, housing, ... dares is right.

You see, in Europe, 10000 Euro will get you a Fiesta with 7 airbags and ESP. A 208 with 6 airbags and ESP. A Toyota Yaris with 6 or 7 airbags and ESP. A Jazz, again 6-7 airbags and ESP. A Nissan March/Micra with 6 or 7 airbags and ESP. Heck, a Daihatsu Sirion (Myvi) with 6 airbags and ESP. Taxes are the same for all cars.
In Malaysia RM 70-90k will get you a Fiesta and 208 or Rio with 6-7 airbags and ESP. But the Vios, Jazz/City and Almera will have to do with 1 or 2 airbags and usually no ESP.

Why can some brands offer their cars with all the safety features (plus other gadgets) for less than 90k, while other brands claim to be unable to do so? Do you think continental brands get lower taxes? Or what could be the reason?

There is simply no excuse why brands like Toyota, Honda and Nissan can't offer the full set of safety features that has been standard elsewhere for ages. The only reason why they do that is that they can earn more profits by omitting those features, since people will buy those cars anyway.

I wouldn't want a Toyota even if it had EU spec. I'd rather buy a Korean car. I'm just saying that Toyota wouldn't have to increase the price. They could easily give decent safety equipment for all trim levels and still earn well. Safety isn't so expensive. It is just that they want to make profit, and customers are happy to pay way too much for the cars.

I don't think it saves them cost. Look at the Forbes article + video I've posted recently about hacking a car. With access to the onboard computer you can do pretty much everything, including pulling on the seatbelt, fully pressing the clutch, deactivating or activating the brakes, jerk around the steering wheel, change the speedometer or any other display... Auto lock is just an easy software feature. Auto unlock should be very easy too, so it is probably what jolokia said, they want to avoid being sued.

I suppose this ban on auto locking is coming from Europe, where the risk of being hijacked is lower.