Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association
Encyclopedia
Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, or JAMA, is a trade association with its headquarters in Tokyo
, Japan
. It was founded in April 1967 and serves as a platform for the automakers of Japan to share technological developments and management practices. There are currently 14 member companies, manufacturing not only cars, but truck
s and motorcycle
s as well. The organization also deals with the manufacturing and distribution of vehicle parts around the world. Together, the companies of JAMA hold a vast share of the markets in the United States, Europe
, and many developing countries. JAMA also has offices located in Beijing
, Singapore
, Washington, D.C.
(US Office), Toronto
(Canadian Office) and Brussels, Belgium
(Europe Office).
(created in 1986), Nissan's Infiniti
, and Toyota's Lexus
(both created in 1989). Other than limited sales of the Infiniti Q45 these brands were only available outside of Japan until 2005, when Lexus was introduced to the Japanese domestic market ("JDM"). Acura and Infiniti are also planned to be introduced into the Japanese domestic market by 2008. Toyota also began marketing some of its small domestic market cars in the United States
under the Scion
marque in 2003.
In Japan, there are also numerous small car manufacturers, coachbuilders, and tuning companies. Companies such as Mitsuoka
, Spoon Sports
, and HKS
build production vehicles, sports cars, or one-off concepts in much smaller quantities than the major carmakers, therefore they are not included in JAMA.
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was founded in April 1967 and serves as a platform for the automakers of Japan to share technological developments and management practices. There are currently 14 member companies, manufacturing not only cars, but truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s as well. The organization also deals with the manufacturing and distribution of vehicle parts around the world. Together, the companies of JAMA hold a vast share of the markets in the United States, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and many developing countries. JAMA also has offices located in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(US Office), Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(Canadian Office) and Brussels, Belgium
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(Europe Office).
Members of JAMA
- Toyota Motor CorporationToyota Motor Corporation, , , commonly known simply as Toyota and abbreviated as TMC, is a multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation employed 317,734 people worldwide, and was the world's largest automobile manufacturer by production.The company was founded by...
- Nissan MotorsNissan Motors, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....
(formerly DatsunDatsunDatsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (Member of the Mitsubishi Group)
- Suzuki Motor Corporation
- Mazda Motor Corporation (Affiliate of Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
– 3% ownership) - Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. (Major shareholder: Toyota – 51.2%, thus a member of the Toyota GroupToyota GroupThe is a conglomerate company that work together and mostly share the Toyota brand. The primary companies in the group are Toyota Industries Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation...
) - Hino MotorsHino Motors-External links:Global* * * Overseas offices****.*.***.*.* - Philippines**...
(Member of the Toyota Group) - SubaruSubaru; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
(Automotive division of Fuji Heavy IndustriesFuji Heavy Industries, or FHI, is a Japanese transportation conglomerate most known for being the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles. It traces its roots to the Nakajima Aircraft Company, a leading supplier of airplanes to the Japanese government during World War II...
— Major shareholder: Toyota – 8.7%, thus a member of the Toyota Group) - Isuzu Motor Co., Ltd. (Major shareholders: ITOCHUITOCHU, until 1992 "C. Itoh" in English, is a Japanese general trading concern based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It has a common origin with Marubeni Corporation. Itochu is a Fortune 500 company.-History:...
, Mitsubishi CorporationMitsubishi Corporationis Japan's largest trading company , a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 50,000 people and has seven business segments including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, food and more....
, Toyota – 5.9%, thus a member of the Toyota Group) - UD, or Nissan Diesel Motor Company (Major shareholder: Volvo GroupVolvoAB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
– 13%) - Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus CorporationMitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus CorporationThe Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation is a German-owned, Japan-based manufacturer of trucks and buses. It is headquartered in Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan. This company is one of the World's largest truck manufacturers...
(Major shareholders: DaimlerChryslerDaimlerChryslerDaimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...
– 85%, Mitsubishi Group – 15%) - Kawasaki Heavy IndustriesKawasaki Heavy Industriesis an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
- Yamaha Motor CompanyYamaha Motor Company, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...
Other brands of member companies
The "Big Three" of Japan (Toyota, Nissan, and Honda), each have luxury divisions: Honda's AcuraAcura
Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. The brand has been available in the United States and Canada since March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and near-performance vehicles. It was introduced to Hong Kong in 1991, Mexico in 2004, and China in 2006...
(created in 1986), Nissan's Infiniti
Infiniti
is the luxury division of automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989 in North America. Marketing operations have since grown to include the Middle East, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, China, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Infiniti began sales in additional...
, and Toyota's Lexus
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
(both created in 1989). Other than limited sales of the Infiniti Q45 these brands were only available outside of Japan until 2005, when Lexus was introduced to the Japanese domestic market ("JDM"). Acura and Infiniti are also planned to be introduced into the Japanese domestic market by 2008. Toyota also began marketing some of its small domestic market cars in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under the Scion
Scion (car)
Scion is a brand of vehicles produced by Toyota Motor Corporation for the North American market. Founded in 2002, Scion's long-term goal is to appeal to Generation Y consumers. The first Scion models, the xA hatchback and xB wagon, went on sale in California in 2003, followed by a sports coupe, the...
marque in 2003.
In Japan, there are also numerous small car manufacturers, coachbuilders, and tuning companies. Companies such as Mitsuoka
Mitsuoka
is a small Japanese automobile company. They are noted for building cars with unconventional styling, some of which imitate British vehicles of the 1950s and 1960s. It is primarily a coachbuilder, taking production cars like the Nissan March and replacing the bodywork with its own custom designs...
, Spoon Sports
Spoon Sports
Spoon Sports is a Japanese company formed in 1988. It is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer specializing in cars made by Honda. Their concept is to create vehicles that provide "total technology" and "real comfort". The company logo of Spoon Sports is a play of words on Ichishima's name...
, and HKS
HKS Co., Ltd.
is a publicly traded company headquartered in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan specializing in the production and sales of aftermarket and accessory automotive parts and components.-Corporate history:...
build production vehicles, sports cars, or one-off concepts in much smaller quantities than the major carmakers, therefore they are not included in JAMA.
See also
- Japanese automobile industry
- Korea Automobile Manufacturers AssociationKorea Automobile Manufacturers AssociationKorea Automobile Manufacturers Association, or KAMA, is a South Korean automobile and motor vehicle association. KAMA is a non-profit organization, representaing the interests of automakers in Korea of which roles are as follows....
(KAMA)