The story starts in 2001 with the Suzuki MR wagon, a kei car which is neither mid-engined nor rear-wheel-drive, but is technically a wagon. So what does MR mean? Take a guess. Nope, it actually stands for Magical Relax, which is a bit like saying a car’s a driveable laxative. Anyway, Nissan had an OEM agreement with Suzuki to sell the MR Wagon as the Moco, which worked out quite successfully. Fast-forward to 2005, and Nissan was looking to repeat a similar feat with the popular Mitsubishi eK. Nissan changed the front bumper and the badges, and called it the Otti. It helped bolster Nissan’s kei car lineup enough to take some big steps in pulling other Mitsubishi and Suzuki models into the Nissan fold. In 2007, Nissan rebadged the Mitsubishi Town Box and Suzuki Alto as the Clipper Rio and Pino, respectively. The former is a strange-looking microvan with Range Rover-esque headlamps designed for the tight streets of Japan with really just a grille separating it from its Mitsubishi counterpart, while the latter is a kei-class hatchback with a different front bumper and new wheel trims compared to its Suzuki twin. With these two practical additions, Nissan’s robust kei car lineup of rebadges was almost complete. What’s a roster of kei cars without something fun? While the Japanese economic bubble burst of the 1990s virtually rid showrooms of loafer-sized sports cars, a whole segment of small off-roaders continued to enjoy popularity. Amidst the Suzuki Jimnys and Daihatsu Terios Kids sat the Mitsubishi Pajero Mini, a boxy crossover designed for light work off the beaten path. It was the perfect vehicle for Nissan to rebadge as the Kix (no relation to the Kicks) with just a new grille and some new badges. Finally, Nissan took the 2009 global, India-built version of the Suzuki Alto and gave it a much more substantial facelift than any of the previously-mentioned rebadged cars. New bumpers, headlights, and a new hood all contributed to an entirely new look for a car called the Pixo. If that name rings a bell, you may have seen it on Top Gear when Clarkson and Hammond bought big second-hand GT cars for the Pixo’s asking price of £6,995. Oh yes, this was a cheap car for Europe, a bit of an anomaly in this string of typically Japan-only models. What do all of these rebadges have in common apart from all being small and cheap? They were launched right around the time of the Great Recession. While it’s unlikely that Nissan foresaw the recession, it was a very smart move for Nissan to sell cheap cars during the last great financial crisis, as little kei cars for Japan and cheap city cars for Europe were vehicles people could afford if they absolutely needed a new car. In addition, it costs heaps of money to develop a new car, so if customers are happy with a Nissan badge on a Mitsubishi or a Suzuki, it doesn’t make sense to invest in a brand new model. Believe it or not, Nissan tried this strategy with a more expensive car as the economy recovered. Remember the second-generation Mazda 5? It received a bit of a do-over with Nagare door swoosh deletion to become the Nissan Lafesta Highway Star. In addition to a new front bumper without a lovable, doofy grin, four entirely new door skins and the tooling to stamp them out had to be made, which must’ve cost an absolute fortune. The one pictured above is the Lafesta Highway Star G Supremo which is just the best trim level name ever applied to a small van in the history of humankind. Sorry Peugeot Bipper Tepee 1.3 HDI FAP, second place for you. To this day, Nissan still rebadges other models to fill its kei car lineup. The Nissan Dayz and Nissan Roox are rebadged versions of the Mitsubishi eK and eK Space, respectively. While these two models make a little more sense now considering how Nissan owns a controlling stake in Mitsubishi, it’s a great reminder of how rebadging makes the kei car world go round. All photos courtesy of Nissan Also, no way in hell the Peugeot bipper whatever gets second place. In return Ford got the Nissan Bluebird/Pintara/Sentra U12 model to rebadge and sell as a Ford Corsair. Same thing with Isuzu and its international variants. What a time to be alive! Moco means booger in (Mexican) Spanish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Terrano_II Which is a bit weird given Toyota already have a massive range of interesting small hatchbacks and vans in the Japanese market that they don’t export, but maybe there’s something about EU regulations or tariffs in there – it’s be interesting to learn more about these European quirks! At the same time, you could also buy a rebodied 2nd-gen Mitsubishi Outlander in PSA showrooms as the 4007 and C-Crosser; then that was followed by the Outlander Sport showing up at PSA as the 4008 and C4 Aircross. All 3 makes offered a PSA/non-Mitsu diesel at some point, so it was a bit more of an ‘exchange’ in that sense and not just a pure rebadge. Vans are one of the most heavily rebadged models around the EU market, makes sense since it’s a fleet segment and just more about having something on offer. I think a van lineup from some brands could have had models from even 3 different manufacturers at one point. It works out for both makes, the smaller makes like Suzuki or Mitsui that specialize more in the small car space get more production and reach they wouldn’t have otherwise gotten, and sometimes rebadge a model from the other manufacturer in turn, like the Serena-Landy above or like Honda-Isuzu in the 90s. Though I wonder if Toyota actually did sell more Mazda-based Yaris’ than Mazda would have in their own showrooms, in the U.S. It was absolutely maddening taking it up the roads near Mount Adatara, no cruise control and you couldn’t keep a consistent speed on up nor downhill. The Suzuki Wagon R we rented later near Mt Fuji was like a sports car by comparison. Traditional auto and a throttle that actually did what you asked!
