Captive import

Marketing term and strategy Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy 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. The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines captive imports as those "not domestically manufactured but which is imported in the 1980 model year or thereafter by a manufacturer whose principal place of business is in the United States." This definition was implemented starting with the 1980 model year "to prevent the standards from encouraging the increased importation of these vehicles and exportation of domestic jobs." A subsidiary of the same company may produce the foreign vehicle, be a joint venture with another firm, or be 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"). A Merkur Scorpio manufactured in West Germany by Ford of Europe and marketed in the United States, an example of a captive import Background Captive import arrangements are usually made to incr