Rebadging
[3][4] The term originated with the practice of replacing an automobile's emblems to create an ostensibly new model sold by a different maker.
[14] Production was stopped for two days so Nash emblems, hubcaps, and radiator shells could be exchanged on all unshipped Ajax cars.
This was partly because all bodywork was provided by Fisher Body which was bought by GM in 1925, and the introduction of the Art and Color Section in 1928, directed by Harley Earl.
The rationalization of production to gain efficiencies "did not extend to marketing", and each "model was adapted, by variation in trim and accessories, to appeal to customer loyalties for whom the badge denoting the company of origin was an important selling advantage ... 'Badge Engineering', as it became known, was symptomatic of a policy of sales competition between the constituent organizations".
In one example, a company may do so to expand its range of different brands in a market without the cost of developing completely new models.
In the United States, General Motors may sell a car through each brand; for example, the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade each share a common body.
In Australia, during the 1980s and 1990s, the Button car plan required imported Nissans and Toyotas to adopt Ford and Holden (GM) nameplates.
[citation needed] Two automakers can also pool resources by operating a joint venture to create a product and then selling each as their own.
Another example was the joint venture of Mitsubishi and Chrysler that resulted in vehicles produced by Diamond-Star Motors that were marketed under various nameplates from 1985 until 1993.
To distribute the production and sales rights to each joint venture, manufacturers often resort to a similar strategy deployed in Japan: simply producing the exact model under two different names with minor changes to exterior bodywork.
GAC Toyota has produced the Levin as a twin model to the FAW Toyota-built Corolla and the Wildlander as the alternative to the RAV4.
Honda awarded several models to two joint ventures, which spawned the Breeze from the original CR-V, the Elysion from the Odyssey, the XR-V from the HR-V, and others.
After a product has reached the end of its life cycle, it may be transferred to another brand, mostly from the same holding company or joint venture.
The advantage of this strategy is amortized tooling costs, which means the vehicle can be produced at a higher margin of profit (or a lower price, or both).
A more controversial example was the Aston Martin Cygnet, a rebadged version of the Toyota iQ city car (intended to comply with EU emissions regulations).
[32] As an effort to place Audi as a "premium" marque, Volkswagen often introduces new technologies in Audi-branded cars before fitting them to mainstream products (such as the Direct-Shift Gearbox).
Using multiple car brands under a single-parent manufacturer can significantly increase selling costs, as each model line must be marketed separately, requiring a distinct dealership network.
General Motors underwent several brand revisions; following the discontinuation of the Geo sub-brand of Chevrolet in 1997, Oldsmobile was closed after 2004 (the oldest American nameplate at the time).
Following its 2009 bankruptcy, GM closed Pontiac, Saturn, and Hummer in 2010; Saab was sold (eventually leading to its demise).
In response to the 1973 oil crisis, General Motors expanded fuel-efficient offerings beyond its Chevrolet division, reintroducing compact cars to its Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac brands.
At the beginning of the decade, European automakers began to market their largest sedans as luxury vehicles in North America.
Though the BMW Bavaria/3.0Si, Jaguar XJ6/XJ12, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W116) were priced similar to the Cadillac Sedan de Ville and Lincoln Continental, the model lines were thousands of pounds lighter and multiple feet shorter in length (with only the hand-built Rolls-Royce Phantom V rivaling Lincoln and Cadillac in size).
In response to both the 1973 oil crisis and to regain lost market share, both Cadillac and Lincoln introduced smaller vehicles for their brand.
In one of the most controversial uses of rebranding in automotive history, both vehicles were derived from smaller GM and Ford divisional model ranges.
In contrast with the Seville (sharing its chassis underpinnings both the Chevrolet Nova and the Chevrolet Camaro), the Versailles shared nearly its entire body with the Mercury Monarch (itself a counterpart of the Ford Granada); the model line also replaced the previous Mercury Grand Monarch Ghia.
Outsold by the Seville nearly three-to-one, the Versailles sold far under sales predictions and was discontinued early in the 1980 model year.
Developed and brought to market less than a year before the J-body was released, Cadillac was left with almost no time to distinguish the Cimarron from its divisional counterparts from Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac.
Through the use of rebranding, Lincoln produced the mid-size Lincoln MKZ (sharing its doors with the Ford Fusion; as part of its 2013 redesign, no other exterior panels); Cadillac rebranded the Opel Omega B as the Cadillac Catera as its first mid-size car, but replaced it, eventually moving towards platform sharing with other divisions.
As part of their legacy, the A-bodies became enormously popular – as well as synonymous with one of GM's most transparent examples of badge engineering: they were simultaneously presented, almost indistinguishably, on the 22 August 1983 cover of Forbes magazine as examples of genericized uniformity, embarrassing the company and ultimately prompting GM to recommit to design leadership.
With the exception of its badging and its dashboard (sourced from the left-hand drive Nissan Skyline), the M30 differed from the Leopard primarily in its steering wheel location.
