Captive import

Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy^[1] for a vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system.^[2]

The foreign vehicle 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).

Background

Captive import arrangements are usually made to increase the competitiveness of the domestic brand by filling a perceived target market not currently served by its model lineup, that is either not practical or not economically feasible to fill from domestic production or a mutually beneficial agreement that helps automakers without a strong distribution network or a presence in a certain country to benefit from the distribution network and stronger brand image of an established automobile manufacturer in that location. One example is the agreement between Chrysler and Mitsubishi Motors that started in 1971, where Chrysler imported Mitsubishi-manufactured vehicles into the United States to fill a void in their compact lineup with vehicles such as the Dodge Colt. Mitsubishi would only start selling vehicles under their own name in the United States in 1982.

In countries or regions where a foreign manufacturer might have a fully owned subsidiary that develops and manufactures vehicles or a strong manufacturing presence, a captive import can be a vehicle from the manufacturers' indigenous country or an affiliated manufacturer worldwide. Holden is the Australian subsidiary of American General Motors, and is considered to be a domestic manufacturer in Australia. Holden has also imported the Mexican-built Holden Suburban, a variant of the North American Chevrolet Suburban, along with the Holden Jackaroo built by General Motors' Japanese affiliate Isuzu in Japan. An example of an Australian captive import is the Holden Barina that has since 1985 been the Suzuki Cultus, two generations of the European Opel Corsa, and is currently the Korean Daewoo Kalos (marketed internationally as the Chevrolet Aveo.) Because Holden in the past was a local car designer and manufacturer and still produces one Australian-designed and built model (the Holden Commodore).

For countries that do not have native manufacturers or a development/manufacturing presence, a captive import is a vehicle not manufactured by the specific company that imported the vehicle but sold under its brand. Usually, the manufacturer of the vehicle might be an affiliate of the importer. The Chevrolet Forester was sold in India by General Motors, where its manufacturer, Japan-based Subaru does not have a sales presence and the importation agreement started during the period when the manufacturer of Subaru, Fuji Heavy Industries, was affiliated with General Motors.

A vehicle manufactured in a country where the manufacturers' indigenous country has a free-trade agreement with other countries in the same region such as the European Union for Europe, NAFTA for North America or ASEAN for Southeast Asia and manufactured in a plant fully or partially owned by that company should not be considered a captive import. The Ford Crown Victoria, which was known for livery use in the United States, particularly for taxi and police duty, was exclusively built in Southwold, Ontario, Canada at St. Thomas Assembly from 1992 to 2011. It is not considered a captive import in the U.S. because of free trade between the two countries, originally under the Canada–United States Automotive Products Agreement and now under NAFTA.

American market

In the American market, captive imports "blurred national distinctions" because they have been designed and built elsewhere, but wear a domestic nameplate.^[3] The chief reason domestic automakers market captive imports is because "it is cheaper to import those cars than to produce them" in the United States.^[3]

The Nash-Healey two-seat sports car was produced for the U.S. market between 1951 and 1954.^[4] It combined a Nash Ambassador drivetrain with a European chassis and body and was a product of a partnership between Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and British automaker Donald Healey.^[5] After the first model year, the Nash-Healey was restyled and assembled by Pinin Farina in Italy.^[6]

The Nash Metropolitan, sold in the U.S. from 1954 to 1962, a captive import for Nash Motors (who designed it themselves, unlike most captive imports built by another company) produced by Austin in the UK specifically for sale in the U.S. By entering into a manufacturing arrangement, Nash would avoid the expense associated with tooling, body panels, and components.^[7] When this two-seater sub-compact car was launched, it was the first time an American-designed car had been only built in Europe, having never been built in the United States. Unlike typical European cars of the era, its look was "American" and it had a design resemblance to the large or "senior" U.S.-built Nashes. It became one of the few small cars to sell well during the most bulk-obsessed period of U.S. automotive history.

When Mercedes-Benz was seeking entry into the American market in the 1950s, the company signed a marketing agreement with Studebaker–Packard and became a captive brand in their showrooms.^[8] Around the same time, Pontiac dealers briefly sold Vauxhalls.

Ford, who had invented the modern captive-import system in 1948 with the British Anglia and Prefect, added its own European Ford Capri to its U.S. Mercury line in the 1970s and saw strong sales.

During the same period, Dodge marketed several small Mitsubishi models, mostly sold as Dodge Colts (versions of which would later also be sold under the Plymouth and Eagle brands as well).

The "Plymouth Cricket" (a rebadged Hillman Avenger) and Ford's entire Merkur line were introduced to the U.S. market, but were not as successful.

Other experiments, such as GM's sale of Opel models like the Kadett through Buick dealers in the late 1960s and early 1970s, yielded ambivalent results; the Opels were generally well-regarded and sales were decent but never substantial. 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 global brand, Buick Opel by Isuzu. Buick was not the first to rebadge Isuzus — Chevrolet did the same with their LUV pickup truck in 1972.

In the late 1980s, GM consolidated its various captive imports of the time (the Daewoo-built Pontiac LeMans notwithstanding) under the Geo brand, which was exclusively handled by Chevrolet dealers. The cars, built variously by Toyota (the Prizm), Isuzu (Spectrum, Storm) and Suzuki (Metro, Tracker) were generally well received, but the company decided to fold the line back into Chevrolet in 1998.

In 2004, GM began marketing the Chevrolet Aveo subcompact, a rebadged Daewoo Kalos (now a rebadged Daewoo Gentra) assembled in South Korea. In 2008, GM started marketing the Saturn Astra, which is a rebadged Opel Astra, assembled in Belgium. And, prior to the brand's phaseout, Pontiac also returned to the captive idea by selling Holden vehicles, first the Holden Monaro as the Pontiac GTO and then the Holden VE Commodore as the Pontiac G8. Pontiac dealers also briefly received a version of the Kalos/Gentra/Aveo, which was sold in Canada as the G3 Wave and in the U.S. as the G3.

In 2011, GM once again used a Holden model, the WM/WN Caprice, as a captive import for its Caprice PPV, but designed for law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada.

In 2013, GM used another Holden vehicle again this time the Holden VF Commodore as the Chevrolet SS performance sedan for the 2014 model year.

Other markets

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. The practice has been revived by PSA Peugeot Citroën with the Peugeot 4007, Peugeot 4008, Citroën C-Crosser, and Citroën C4 AirCross, which are rebadged versions of the Mitsubishi Outlander and Mitsubishi ASX.

In Brazil, the Australian-built Holden Commodore has been sold since 1998 as Chevrolet Omega, replacing the locally built car bearing the same name. Despite being well received by the press and public, sales are much worse than its locally built counterpart, simply because of its high price. However, it is used very often as official government cars. Chevrolet also rebranded the Argentine-built Suzuki Vitara as the Chevrolet Tracker after Suzuki stopped selling cars in Brazil, but it never achieved the same selling numbers from the original car.

In Japan, where foreign car manufacturers have traditionally struggled to compete in the local market, even rebadging of U.S. models like the Chevrolet Cavalier as a Toyota have failed to improve sales.

In Australia, GM's Holden operation sold the 1975-84 Isuzu Bellett/Gemini, itself a license built version of the then current Opel Kadett, as the Holden Gemini. The name was originally Holden-Isuzu Gemini, but after the initial TX series the Isuzu cobranding was dropped. Perhaps the original idea was to foster the Japanese-ness of the model at a time when that might have been seen by customers as a positive, the Nissan's 610 Bluebird being marketed as the Datsun 180B being a big seller at the time. The Gemini was assembled in Australia at Acacia Ridge in Queensland and Holden was still the highest selling brand. The Chevrolet LUV produced by Isuzu was also sold from 1973 for a couple of years, the only official Chevrolet branded model available in Australia at the time (and since). Ford sold the Taurus in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong in 1996, but discontinued in those markets for 1999. In 1998, the Chevrolet Suburban, was marketed in Australia and New Zealand as a rebadged Holden Suburban with intentions to launch the full-sized SUV in a region that was used to having small to mid-sized SUVs, and the model was discontinued in 2001.

Reasons for failure

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.

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 foreignness of the car is thus discreetly made less apparent.

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.

For example, the Renault Alliance, which was sold through American Motors (AMC) dealers in the 1980s, was actually assembled by AMC as part of the brief tie-up between the two companies. The 1985–1988 Chevrolet Nova and the later Geo Prizm, though it was a Toyota design and shared the Chevrolet showroom with many captives, was built domestically by the GM/Toyota NUMMI joint venture. The Eagle Talon and Plymouth Laser, both sisters to the Mitsubishi Eclipse, were manufactured in the U.S. by Diamond-Star Motors, a Chrysler/ Mitsubishi Motors 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.

In the United States, a vehicle that is assembled in Canada or Mexico and is distributed domestically by a Big Three automaker is not considered a captive import. This is due to the integration of manufacturing operations by the Big 3 in these countries due to the hospitable trade environment created by the North American Free Trade Agreement (and before NAFTA, the US-Canada Auto Pact), coupled with the proximity of these nations to the U.S. Also, vehicles made and marketed by European automakers that were eventually acquired by the Big Three automakers, such as Land Rover, Volvo, and Saab, are generally not considered to be captive imports. The Opel vehicles sold in the 1960s and 1970s are exceptions to this rule because they were sold through the Buick distribution channel, while retaining the Opel brand name. Thus, they are captive imports.

Recent models

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 Chrysler Crossfire — an American design which mostly uses Mercedes-Benz mechanicals but was actually built by Karmann in Germany.^[9] The Pontiac GTO, which was built alongside the Australian Holden Monaro, also qualifies. The Saturn Astra is another example. It is a rebadged Opel Astra that is imported from Belgium. The successor for Pontiac's seventh generation Grand Prix, the Pontiac G8, is a modified Holden VE Commodore imported from Australia.

Notable captive imports

United States

Model	Year(s)	Country of assembly	Original model
Buick Opel	1976–1980	Japan	Isuzu Gemini
Buick Encore	2013–present	South Korea	Opel Mokka
Buick Regal	2010–2011 (some, but not all 2011)	Germany	Opel Insignia
Cadillac Catera	1997–2001	Germany	Opel Omega
Chevrolet Aveo	2004–2011	South Korea	Daewoo Kalos
Chevrolet Caprice PPV	2011–present	Australia	Holden Caprice
Chevrolet LUV	1972–1982	Japan	Isuzu P'up
Chevrolet SS	2014–present	Australia	Holden VF Commodore
Chevrolet Spectrum	1985–1988	Japan	Isuzu Gemini
Chevrolet Sprint	1985–1988	Japan	Suzuki Cultus
Chrysler Conquest	1987–1989	Japan	Mitsubishi Starion
Chrysler Crossfire	2004–2008	Germany	Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
Chrysler TC by Maserati	1989–1991	Italy
Dodge Challenger	1978–1983	Japan	Mitsubishi Galant Lambda
Dodge/Plymouth Colt	1971–1994	Japan	Mitsubishi Galant Mitsubishi Mirage
Dodge Conquest	1984–1986	Japan	Mitsubishi Starion
Dodge D-50	1979–1986	Japan	Mitsubishi Forte
Dodge Raider	1987–1989	Japan	Mitsubishi Pajero
Dodge Ram 50	1987–1989	Japan	Mitsubishi Mighty Max
Dodge Stealth	1991–1996	Japan	Mitsubishi GTO
Eagle Medallion	1988–1989	France	Renault 21
Eagle Summit	1989–1996	Japan	Mitsubishi Mirage
Ford Anglia	1948–1967	United Kingdom	Ford Anglia
Ford Aspire	1994–1997	South Korea	Kia Avella
Ford Cortina	1962–1970	United Kingdom	Lotus Cortina
Ford Courier	1972–1982	Japan	Mazda B-Series
Ford Fiesta	1978–1980	Germany
Ford Festiva	1988–1993	South Korea	Kia Pride
Ford Transit Connect	2010–2013	Turkey
Ford Transit Connect	2014–present	Spain
Geo Metro	1989–1994	Japan	Suzuki Cultus
Geo Spectrum	1989	Japan	Isuzu Gemini
Geo Storm	1990–1993	Japan	Isuzu Piazza
Geo Tracker	1989–1990 (some, but not all 1990)	Japan	Suzuki Escudo
Jeep Renegade	2014-present	Italy
Mercury Capri	1970–1977	Germany	Ford Capri
Mercury Capri	1991–1994	Australia	Ford Capri
Mercury Tracer (3-door model)	1988–1989	Japan	Mazda 323
Merkur Scorpio	1988–1989	Germany	Ford Scorpio
Merkur XR4Ti	1985–1989	Germany	Ford Sierra XR4i
Plymouth Arrow	1976–1980	Japan	Mitsubishi Celeste
Plymouth Arrow Truck	1979–1982	Japan	Mitsubishi Forte
Plymouth Champ	1979–1982	Japan	Mitsubishi Mirage
Plymouth Conquest	1984–1986	Japan	Mitsubishi Starion
Plymouth Cricket	1971–1973	United Kingdom	Hillman Avenger
Plymouth Sapporo	1978–1983	Japan	Mitsubishi Galant Lambda
Pontiac G3	2009	South Korea	Daewoo Kalos
Pontiac G8	2008–2009	Australia	Holden Commodore
Pontiac GTO	2004–2006	Australia	Holden Monaro
Pontiac LeMans	1988–1993	South Korea	Daewoo LeMans
Saturn Astra	2008–2009	Belgium	Opel Astra

Japan

Model	Year(s)	Country of assembly	Original model
Isuzu Statesman DeVille	1973-1976	Australia	Holden Statesman HQ
Honda Accord Coupe	1988–1997	United States
Honda Civic Coupe	1992-2000	United States
Honda Civic Type-R	2001-2005	United Kingdom
Honda Crossroad	1993–1998	United Kingdom	Land Rover Discovery
Honda Element	2002-2006	United States
Honda Inspire/Saber	1998-2002	United States	Acura TL
Honda LaGreat	1999-2005	Canada	Honda Odyssey (North America, second generation)
Honda MDX	2003-2006	Canada	Acura MDX
Mazda Roadpacer AP	1975-1977	Australia	Holden HJ/HX
Mitsubishi Eclipse	1990-1998, 2004-2006	United States
Mitsubishi Diamante (some)	1991-2005	Australia	Mitsubishi Magna
Mitsubishi Mirage	2012-present	Thailand
Nissan Dualis	2007-present	United Kingdom	Nissan Qashqai
Nissan Latio	2012-present	Thailand
Nissan Primera (hatchback)	1990-1996	United Kingdom
Nissan Pulsar Milano X1	1984-1986	Italy	Alfa Romeo Arna
Subaru Traviq	2001-2004	Germany	Opel Zafira
Toyota Cavalier	1996–2000	United States	Chevrolet Cavalier
Toyota Avalon	1995-1999	United States
Toyota Avensis	2003-2009, 2011-present	United Kingdom
Toyota Scepter wagon/coupe	1992-1996	United States	Toyota Camry wagon/coupe
Toyota Pronard	2000-2005	United States	Toyota Avalon
Toyota Voltz	2002-2004	United States	Pontiac Vibe

Europe

Model	Year(s)	Country of assembly	Original model
BMW Z3	1995-2002	United States
BMW Z4	2002-2008	United States
BMW X5	1999-present	United States
Citroën C-Crosser	2007-2012	Japan	Mitsubishi Outlander
Fiat Freemont	2011–present	Mexico	Dodge Journey
Fiat Sedici	2005–present	Japan	Suzuki SX4
Ford Cougar	1998–2002	United States	Mercury Cougar
Ford Explorer (United Kingdom)	1997-2001	United States
Ford Maverick	2001–2006	United States	Ford Escape
Ford Probe	1989-1997	United States
Lancia Flavia	2012-2014	United States	Chrysler 200
Lancia Thema	2011-present	Canada	Chrysler 300
Lancia Voyager	2011-present	Canada	Chrysler Voyager
Mercedes-Benz M-Class	1997-present	United States
Opel/Vauxhall Ampera	2012-present	United States	Chevrolet Volt
Opel Frontera	1992-2004	Japan	Isuzu Wizard
Opel Monterey	1992-2003	Japan	Isuzu Bighorn
Opel GT	2006–2009	United States	Saturn Sky
Opel Sintra	1996–1999	United States	Chevrolet Venture
Peugeot 4007	2007-2012	Japan	Mitsubishi Outlander
Renault Latitude	2010–present	South Korea	Renault Samsung SM5
Rover CityRover	2003–2005	India	Tata Indica
Vauxhall Monaro	2001–2006	Australia	Holden Monaro
Vauxhall VXR8	2007–present	Australia	HSV Clubsport/HSV GTS
Volkswagen Amarok	2010-present (some)	Argentina
Volkswagen Taro	1989-1997	Japan	Toyota Hilux

Oceania

Model	Year(s)	Country of assembly	Original model
Ford Maverick (Australia)	1988-1994	Japan	Nissan Patrol
Ford Courier	1985-2006	Japan/Thailand	Mazda B-Series
Ford Laser	1981-2003	Japan	Mazda 323
Ford Taurus Ghia (Australia)	1996	United States	Ford Taurus
Ford Taurus Ghia (New Zealand)	1996-1998	United States	Ford Taurus
Holden Barina	1985-1994	Japan	Suzuki Cultus
Holden Barina	1994-2005	Spain	Opel Corsa
Holden Barina	2005-2011	South Korea	Daewoo Kalos
Holden Camira JJ (New Zealand)	1984-1987	Japan	Isuzu Aska
Holden Cruze	2008-present	South Korea	Chevrolet Cruze
Holden Jackaroo	1981-2005	Japan	Isuzu Bighorn
Holden Suburban	1998-2001	Mexico	Chevrolet Suburban
Holden Vectra	1995-2007	Germany	Opel Vectra
Holden Viva	2005-2008	South Korea	Daewoo Lacetti
Holden Volt	2013-present	United States	Chevrolet Volt
Pontiac LeMans (New Zealand)	1986-1994	South Korea	Daewoo LeMans
Rambler Rebel	1967-1970	United States	AMC Rebel
Rover 416i	1985-1989	Japan	Honda Quint Integra

Other markets

Model	Year(s)	Country of sale	Country of assembly	Imported by	Original model
Chevrolet Cassia	1998-2002	Philippines	Japan	General Motors Philippines	Suzuki Cultus Crescent
Chevrolet Forester	1997-2008	India	Japan	General Motors India Private Limited	Subaru Forester
Dodge Attitude	2005-2014	Mexico	South Korea	Chrysler Mexico	Hyundai Accent
Dodge Attitude	2015-present	Mexico	Thailand	Chrysler Mexico	Mitsubishi Attrage
Daewoo Statesman	2008-2010	South Korea	Australia	GM Daewoo	Holden Caprice (WM)
Dodge 1000	2007–2008	Mexico	Taiwan	Chrysler Mexico	CMC Delica
Dodge/Eagle 2000GTX	1989-1992	Canada	Japan	Chrysler Canada	Mitsubishi Galant (sixth generation)
Nissan Aprio	2008–2010	Mexico	Brazil	Nissan Mexico	Dacia Logan
Passport Optima	1988-1991	Canada	South Korea	General Motors Canada	Daewoo LeMans
Pontiac Firefly	1989-2001	Canada	Japan	General Motors Canada	Suzuki Cultus

See also

• Eagle automobile
• Geo (cars)
• Merkur
• Mercury Capri
• Badge engineering
• Third-generation Ford Taurus

References

1. Ballance, Robert H.; Sinclair, Stewart W. (1983). Collapse and survival: industry strategies in a changing world. Routledge. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-04-338108-3. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
2. Plunkett, Jack W. (2007). Plunkett's Automobile Industry Almanac. Plunkett Research. ISBN 978-1-59392-401-0. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
3. White, George (November 1986). "Shifting Gears". Black Enterprise 17 (4): 76–88. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
4. Adler, Dennis; Shelby, Carroll (2008). 50 Cars to Drive. Globe Pequot Press. pp. 233–234. ISBN 978-1-59921-230-2. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
5. "Nash Builds a Sports Car". Popular Mechanics 95 (3): 107–109. March 1951. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
6. "Nash-Heally ads LeMans hardtop to sports line". Popular Mechanics 99 (5): 101. May 1953. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
7. "Nash Metropolitan". Unique Cars and Parts (Australia). Retrieved 29 October 2014.
8. Windecker, Ray. "Studebaker helped sell '50s Mercedes". Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
9. Lorio, Joe (1 April 2003). ["Chrysler Crossfire" Check |url= value (help). Automobile Magazine. Retrieved 29 October 2014.

External links

• Nash Metropolitans
• Isuzu Geminis, including Buick Opel version
• Consumer Guide on Cadillac Catera
• Official Chevrolet Aveo site