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The growing demand for fuel-efficient Japanese cars in the 1970s provided Japanese manufacturers with opportunities to embark on full-scale internationalization strategies, which were based on local production in export market countries, transcending the framework of exports from Japan.
Full-fledged joint ventures with foreign manufacturers marked the first phase of this new approach. At the time, the U.S. manufacturers GM and Ford were beginning to promote their "world car" plans aimed at producing small passenger cars on a global scale to meet the rising demand for these cars.
As part of this initiative, Isuzu and Suzuki entered into international manufacturing tie-ups with GM; Toyota established a joint venture company, New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), with GM in the United States; and Ford expanded and reinforced its ties with Toyo Kogyo (now Mazda) in a strategy centered on Asia and the Pacific region.
Joint ventures were also established with European manufacturers during this period: between Honda and British Leyland in the United Kingdom, between Nissan and Motor Iberica in Spain, and between Nissan and Alfa Romeo in Italy. And in early 1984, Nissan was to begin production of Volkswagen's Santana at its Zama plant in Kanagawa, Japan.
Further to their international joint venture initiatives, Japanese automobile manufacturers were also making plans to establish local production facilities, based mainly in the United States and Europe.
After construction of its Honda of America Manufacturing (HAM) plant in the state of Ohio in 1978, Honda began production there in 1982; Nissan established the Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corporation USA in Tennessee in 1983; and Toyota started producing cars at the NUMMI plant in 1984, later deciding to establish its own independent factory.
Other Japanese manufacturers began automobile production in the United States and Canada: Mitsubishi (in an agreement with Chrysler), Mazda (in an agreement with Ford), Suzuki (in an agreement with GM Canada), Fuji and Isuzu, all as of 1989.
In the U.K., Nissan began independent production while Honda and Isuzu began joint production with the Rover Group and GM, respectively.
In Australia, Toyota had entered into manufacturing agreements as early as 1958, followed by Nissan with similar arrangements in 1966. After government restrictions limiting imports to 20% of market share went into effect in 1975, both companies obtained domestic manufacturer status and started full-scale local production "down under" in 1976. Mitsubishi began local production there after buying out Chrysler Australia in 1979.
Since 1985, Japanese manufacturers have been promoting local production even more vigorously than in preceding years, as automobile production transitions into a new era of global interdependence.