Captive import is an automobile marketing term denoting a foreign-built vehicle which is sold and serviced by a domestic manufacturer through its own dealer body. A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... It has been suggested that Product marketing be merged into this article or section. ...

The foreign car may be produced by a subsidiary of the same company, be a joint venture with another firm, or acquired under license from a completely separate entity. The brand name used may be that of the domestic company, the foreign builder, or an unrelated marque entirely. (This is one type of badge engineering.) Badge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one model of car as another. ...

This arrangement is usually made to increase the competitiveness of the domestic brand by filling a perceived "hole" in its model lineup, which it is either not practical or not economically feasible to fill from domestic production. Captive imports are often aimed at the lower end of the market, but this is not always so.

Mixed success

In the American market, captive imports have had a spotty record of success. Ford added its own European Ford Capri to its US Mercury line in the 1970s and saw very strong sales. During the same period, Dodge did quite well with several small Mitsubishi models, mostly sold as Dodge Colts. The Ford Motor Company (often referred to as Ford; sometimes nicknamed FoMoCo), NYSE: F is a multinational corporation that manufactures automobiles. ... Ford Capri Mk III 1. ... Mercury is an automobile brand name of the Ford Motor Company founded in 1939 to market semi-luxury cars slotted between entry-level Ford and luxury Lincoln models. ... Dodge is a brand name of automobiles and light to heavy-duty trucks. ... Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (in Japanese: 三菱自動車工業株式会社, in romaji Mitsubishi Jidōsha Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha) TYO: 7211 is a Japanese automobile company, manufacturing an extensive range of cars and trucks (see Fuso). ... 1990 Colt Vista The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were compact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994. ...

However, some others, such as the Plymouth Cricket (born Hillman Avenger) and Ford's entire Merkur line, gained a reputation as being poorly suited to American tastes and faded away quickly. Other experiments, such as GM's sale of Opel models like the Kadett through Buick dealers in the late 60s and early 70s, yielded ambivalent results; the Opels were generally well-regarded and sales were decent but never substantial. The Plymouth Cricket was a subcompact automobile sold by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the American market from 1971-1973. ... The Hillman Avenger is a sub-compact car manufactured by the Rootes Group, and latterly Chrysler Europe. ... Merkur, the German word for Mercury, was an automobile brand which was briefly marketed by Ford Motor Company in the United States and Canada from 1985 to 1989. ... General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is a United States-based automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... Opel, originally and more correctly known as Adam Opel AG is an automobile maker in Germany. ... 1936 Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett was a compact-sized automobile from the German Opel company, which is part of General Motors’ European division, offered between 1937 and 1940, then from 1962 to 1990. ... Buick is a brand of automobile built in the United States, Canada, and China by General Motors Corporation. ...

The Nash Metropolitan, sold in the US from 1954 to 1962, was an interesting example because it was a captive import produced by Austin in the UK specifically for foreign sale with Nash styling. It saw reasonable success. A late-1950s Metropolitan The Nash Metropolitan, also sold under the Hudson, Rambler and Austin marques, was a very small commuter/shopping subcompact car sold between 1954 and 1962. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Austin Motor Company was British manufacturer of automobiles that rose to be a major motorcar brand, the dominant partner after merger with Morris in the 50s but declining after absorption into British Leyland. ...

In Europe, there have been relatively few cases of captive imports, and most have been unsuccessful. The Chevrolet Venture minivan was sold as the Opel/Vauxhall Sintra in the late-1990s, but was not only not to European tastes, but also gained a bad reputation due to poor results in safety tests. World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... The Chevrolet Venture was a minivan marketed by General Motors from 1997 to 2005 model years. ... A modern minivan - 2004 Chrysler Town & Country Typical early minivan (a Dodge Caravan) A minivan, people carrier, multi utility vehicle (MUV),or multi purpose vehicle (MPV) is a type of vehicle which has a body that resembles a van, but which has rear side doors, rear side windows, and interior... Opel, originally and more correctly known as Adam Opel AG is an automobile maker in Germany. ... Vauxhall Motors is a UK car company. ... The Sintra was an MPV sold by General Motors in Europe, badged as an Opel, except in the UK, where it was badged as a Vauxhall. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, the last decade of the 20th Century. ...

In Japan, where foreign car manufacturers have traditionally struggled to compete in the local market, even rebadging of US models like the Chevrolet Cavalier as a Toyota have failed to improve sales. In some cases, this can be attributed to the manufacturer's lack to attention to the desires of the Japanese consumer, even to so basic a requirement as availability with right hand drive. The Chevrolet Cavalier was Chevrolets version of the compact GM J platform which consisted of the Chevrolet Cavalier, Cadillac Cimarron, Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac Sunbird and the Oldsmobile Firenza, among others. ... Toyota redirects here. ... This article concerns rules of the road regarding land vehicles; for sea-going vehicles, see International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. ...

Various reasons have been suggested as to why captive imports often fail. The question of exchange rates is clearly important, as a sudden shift can quickly raise prices to uncompetitive levels. Some models have been justly criticized for marginal quality, or being a bad match to the local driving environment. The commitment of domestic sales and service staffs to an unfamiliar vehicle has also often been questioned, particularly if the import is seen as reducing sales of other, more profitable vehicles in the lineup.

Others fail due to no fault of their own; the Sunbeam Tiger, for instance, an early 1960s example of the concept of an American Ford Windsor engine in a British (Sunbeam Alpine) body and chassis, enjoyed substantial success until Sunbeam became a captive import of Chrysler Corporation in North America. Chrysler could not be realistically expected to sell a car with a Ford engine, and Chrysler V8 engines all had the distributor positioned at the rear of the engine, unlike the front-mounted distributor of the Ford V8, making it impossible to fit the Chrysler engine into the Sunbeam engine bay without major and expensive revisions. Thus this niche of the automotive market was left to be filled with legendary success by the Ford engined Shelby Cobra. The Tiger was a muscle car version of the Sunbeam Alpine roadster. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Windsor engine is a 90-degree small-block V8 from Ford Motor Company. ... 1964 Sunbeam Alpine IV The Alpine was a sporty coupe from Rootes Sunbeam marque. ... The Chrysler Corporation was a United States-based automobile manufacturer that existed independently from 1925-1998. ... This article is about distributors in internal combustion engines. ... 427 A/C Shelby America CSX 4109 Cobra Signature Series #3 of 4 The AC Cobra was a powerful Anglo-American sports car built in the 1960s. ...

There may be a deeper, structural issue at work, however. It could simply be that a domestic buyer is unlikely to want an import, and an import buyer is unlikely to enter a domestic showroom. A captive thus easily falls between two stools. This is probably why the practice of using a separate brand name, such as Merkur and General Motors' short-lived Geo, has ceased - the foreign-ness of the car is thus discreetly made less apparent. General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), also known as GM, is a United States-based automobile maker with worldwide operations and brands including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Vauxhall. ... Geo logo Geo was a brand of small cars and SUVs marketed by General Motors and sold through Chevrolet dealerships throughout North America beginning in 1989 in the United States, and 1992 in Canada. ...

Trivia

Captive imports have generated their share of interesting trivia. The Nash Metropolitan of the 1950s, despite its close resemblance to the senior U.S. Nashes, was actually built in Britain with Austin components and became one of the few small cars to sell well in that bulk-obsessed decade. In the late 50s, Mercedes-Benz, seeking entry into the American market, signed a marketing agreement with Studebaker-Packard and briefly became a captive brand in their showrooms. In the 1970s, when Buick decided to phase out its Opels and sell small Isuzus instead, the result was a handful of cars carrying a truly global but very amusing brand, Buick Opel by Isuzu. The Buick Motor Division was not the first to rebadge Isuzus - Chevrolet did the same with their LUV pickup truck back in 1972. Also see: Kelvinator and American Motors Corporation Nash Motors was an automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the United States from 1916 to 1938. ... The Austin Motor Company was British manufacturer of automobiles that rose to be a major motorcar brand, the dominant partner after merger with Morris in the 50s but declining after absorption into British Leyland. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Studebakers Lazy S logo designed by Raymond Loewy was used from the 1950s until 1966 Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer that was incorporated in 1868. ... Packard Cormorant hood ornament from a 1941 180 Formal Sedan Packard was a United States based brand of automobile. ... Isuzu Motors Ltd. ...

Exceptions

Not every vehicle that appears to be a captive import really is. A vehicle which is foreign-designed or badged but assembled in the market where it is sold does not fall into this category. Such vehicles are frequently the result of joint venture or strategic alliance arrangements between automakers. A joint venture (often abbreviated JV, and sometimes known by the older term joint adventure) is a strategic alliance between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. ... A Strategic Alliance is a mutually beneficial long-term formal relationship formed between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon goals or to meet a critical business need while remaining independent organizations. ...

For example, the Renault Alliance, which was sold through American Motors dealers in the 1980s, was actually assembled by AMC as part of the brief tie-up between the two companies. The Geo Prizm, though it was a Toyota design and shared a showroom with many captives, was built domestically by the GM/Toyota NUMMI joint venture. Australia's Holden, although it often shares planning and hardware with the rest of GM's global empire such as Opel and Isuzu, has generally preferred to assemble its versions of such vehicles locally. Rover and Honda have co-produced models for the European market, as have Alfa Romeo and Nissan. None of these would be considered imports. The Renault 9 and Renault 11 are compact automobiles, launched in the early 1980s, by the French car manufacturer Renault. ... Logo American Motors Corporation (AMC) was an American automobile company, formed in 1954 by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson. ... The Geo Prizm was a United States-market small car from the 1990s, formed in a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. ... Toyota redirects here. ... New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. ... Holden is an Australian car manufacturer, originally independent but now a subsidiary of General Motors. ... 1936 Rover 10 1962 Rover 80 Rover 2000 1995 Rover 200 Rover (the MG Rover Group) is a manufacturer of automobiles in the United Kingdom, based at the famous Longbridge plant in Birmingham. ... Honda Motor Co. ... Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ... Nissan Motor Co. ...

Recent models

Recent examples of captive imports in the U.S. have included the Cadillac Catera, a rebadged Opel Omega, the Chevrolet Aveo, built by GM Daewoo, and the rather confusing Chrysler Crossfire — an American design which mostly uses Mercedes-Benz mechanicals but is actually built by Karmann in Germany. The new Pontiac GTO, built alongside the Australian Holden Monaro, also qualifies. The Cadillac Catera was a mid-sized automobile that was, essentially, a rebadged version of the 1994 model year Opel Omega MV6 made in Rüsselsheim, Germany. ... Opel Omega VX. The Opel Omega was a large automobile from Opel, the main European subsidiary of General Motors. ... The Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile marketed globally by General Motors. ... This article is about the auto company GM Daewoo. ... 2003 Chrysler Crossfire The Chrysler Crossfire is an automobile sold by DaimlerChryslers Chrysler marque. ... This page is about the Mercedes-Benz brand of automobiles and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler automobile manufacturer. ... Wilhelm Karmann GmbH in Osnabrück, Germany is an independent company in the motor vehicle industry. ... 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible The Pontiac GTO was an automobile built by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974. ... The Monaro is a vehicle produced by Holden, the Australian branch of General Motors. ...

See also

• Eagle automobile
• Geo (cars)
• Merkur
• Mercury Capri
• Badge engineering

Eagle was a marque of automobiles sold in the United States and Canada from 1988 to 1998. ... This page is about General Motors short-lived compact car brand, for other uses, see GEO. Geo logo Geo was a brand of small cars and SUVs marketed by General Motors and sold through Chevrolet dealerships throughout North America beginning in 1989 in the United States, and 1992 in Canada. ... Merkur, the German word for Mercury, was an automobile brand which was briefly marketed by Ford Motor Company in the United States and Canada from 1985 to 1989. ... The name Mercury Capri has been used for several different cars over the years. ... Badge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one model of car as another. ...

External links

• Nash Metropolitans
• Studebaker-Mercedes tieup
• Isuzu Geminis, including Buick Opel version
• Consumer Guide on Cadillac Catera
• Chrysler Crossfire review
• Official Chevrolet Aveo site
• A quite negative article on captives