Ford Motor Company of Japan Limited was the Japanese subsidiary of the United States–based automaker

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

History

Since 1917, the first Ford vehicles were sold by Sales & Frazar in Japan, but without trying to build a dealer network. Although the sales department of Ford Japan considered in 1922 due to the inadequate infrastructure as unsuitable for automobiles, was recognized as part of an Asian trip by the Ford Export Manager Russell I. Roberge a potential of the Japanese market. Ford founded a subsidiary in 1925 in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

. From 1925 to 1935, the Japanese car market was dominated by American manufacturers (alongside Ford since 1926/27

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

and since 1930 also Chrysler). In 1930, the combined market share of Ford and General Motors was 95 percent. In addition to a new law in 1936, according to which existing foreign companies were not allowed to increase their annual production, further economic and political factors led to Ford (like other American manufacturers) virtually withdrawing from the Japanese market in 1939. The Ford brand was formally dissolved in 1941 after the mutual declaration of war by the Japanese government. All attempts to resume operations after the Second World War ended initially failed. Agreements with

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

could not be concluded; also a sale of the plots failed. Ford resumed importing cars to Japan in 1974. In addition, vehicles manufactured by Mazda and branded

badge engineering In the automotive industry, rebadging (also known as badge engineering, an intentionally ironic misnomer in that little or no actual engineering takes place) is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. T ...

have been sold with the Ford logo. At least in the mid-1980s, this approach was a USP for American automotive brands in Japan. A source lists Ford as a manufacturer, but refers to the headquarters of

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

. In January 2016, Ford Motor Company announced that it would exit from the Japanese and Indonesian markets at the end of the year because the manufacturer did not consider these sales regions profitable for the foreseeable future.

Models

For their imported cars, Ford had mainly offered models with left-hand drive in Japan (one notable exception being the third-generation Ford Taurus). Some of the models sold, such as the

Ford Escape The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company since the 2001 model year. The first Ford SUV derived from a car platform, the Escape fell below the Ford Explorer#Second generation (UN105/150; 1995), F ...

, were made by

Ford Lio Ho Motor Ford Lio Ho Motor () is a Taiwanese-based automaker and the primary dealer of Ford vehicles in Taiwan, formed in 1972. It is 70 percent owned by Ford Motor Company. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by investors in the former Lio Ho Automotive I ...

in Taiwan.

References

External links

* (ford.co.jp – archived, 5 Dec 2017)
Ford Service Japan
{{Automotive industry in Japan Car manufacturers of Japan Ford Motor Company Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1925 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2016 Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies Japanese companies established in 1925 Japanese companies disestablished in 2016 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Japan