If you’ve ever been traveling and seen a car that looked just like one at home, but wearing the name of a different automaker, you may have seen a “rebadged” vehicle. “Badge engineering” (another name for the practice) is when two companies agree to use parts of one manufacturer’s vehicle to create a different make and model for a different market. Sometimes the rebadged car is identical to the original, save for the badge or the grille. 

This practice isn’t limited to small or struggling companies that can’t take on more manufacturing. Sometimes a large company uses rebadging to establish a foothold in a new market or slide under government restrictions. As one of the biggest and oldest automakers, the Ford Motor Company has worked with a number of other manufacturers over the years, sticking its blue oval on the likes of Nissan, Mazda, and Volkswagen vehicles.

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In 1987, Ford and Volkswagen created a joint company called AutoLatina-Comercio, which would be the principal owner of Ford and VW’s automotive and credit concerns in Brazil. Although the new president of Autolatina at that time, Wolfgang Sauer, said that Ford and VW brands would remain distinct, that didn’t mean a little rebadging wouldn’t happen to blur the lines. 

From 1984 to 2006, Volkswagen built and distributed the Santana, a two and four-door sedan, in Brazil. It was a better-than-mid-priced car that Ford took a shine to, and the automaker badge-engineered it into one of its own. Make that two of its own: the Santana became Ford’s Versailles four-door sedan – with many of its body panels still familiar to drivers of the VW version — as well as the Royale, a two-door station wagon bearing a name as regal as its stablemate’s.  

Sedans aren’t the only vehicles Ford has rebadged, and Brazil isn’t the only country that’s seen them. The practice has extended to Ford’s lineup of trucks and SUVs as well.

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From 1988 to 1994, Ford teamed up with Nissan to sell its sporty Patrol SUV in Australia under a name Ford has loved to use on different vehicles for decades: the Maverick. This SUV had looks reminiscent of a Jeep Cherokee and the tough off-road chops of a LandCruiser.

On first impression, it sounds odd that Ford would turn to another manufacturer to make SUVs. But at that time, Australia’s currency was sliding against the U.S. dollar, and the government was pulling back from subsidizing its auto industry. It lowered import restrictions and production quotas and regulated how many models could be made in Australia, encouraging manufacturers to buddy-up and rebadge.

Ford introduced a new SUV, again called the Maverick, to European markets in 1993. This vehicle, too, was designed by Nissan and sold under the Japanese manufacturer’s brand as the Mistral and Terrano II. As a Maverick, the SUV was offered with three doors or five. Buyers had a few years to enjoy this SUV with either the 2.4-liter inline-four gas engine or 2.7-liter turbodiesel, but then production of both Terrano II and Maverick ended in 1999.

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Ford was interested in adding a small utility van to its offerings in the ’80s, and the Mazda Bongo minivan fit the bill. Ford shook hands on a deal that would rebadge the minivan as the Spectron in several markets, including Australia and Asia. 

The Spectron was one of two Bongo-based vans for Ford — an upscale model that could hold eight passengers. The cargo version of the van is the better-known Econowagon in Ford parlance. It was a five-speed manual, commonly with a 2.0L turbodiesel. Since it was a cab-over body style, the engine was tucked underneath the front seats.

Another neat treat for the Spectron was the middle-row seats that could face forward or rearward for a cozy conversation in the back. The second and third row seats also folded down to accommodate cargo or a sleeping area, well before #VanLife was a hashtag. 

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The Ford Aspire started life in Korea as a Kia vehicle called the Avella. It was one of a number of “econobox” models sold in the U.S. that hailed from Asia. Ford had originally rebadged the Avella as the Festiva in 1993, then changed its name the following year to the Aspire.

The Aspire was available as a two or four-door hatchback, with 63 horsepower from its diminutive 1.3L, 4-cylinder engine.  Cars of the econobox genre earned the nickname by being inexpensive to buy, and efficient and small enough that they didn’t burn through much fuel. Both the two and four-door models of this bargain car were promoted as making 31 MPG in the city and 39 on the highway. 

Ford faced strong competition in the subcompact segment from a number of manufacturers. The Aspire even had to compete against its stablemate, the Ford Escort. And so, Ford dropped the Aspire after only four years.

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In the early 2020s, Ford went back to its old partner Volkswagen to source a new vehicle for the European market. The Ford Tourneo Connect is a multi-activity vehicle that emphasizes comfort and practicality, putting it ahead of the pack of airport shuttles that spring to mind on hearing the words “transit van.” It’s spacious enough to seat seven, and flexible enough to allow the second or third seat rows to be folded or taken out to configure the area that’s needed. The Tourneo is called the Volkswagen Caddy in other markets. 

Ford’s take on this VW offers a different grille, as well as unique LED daytime running lights that curve around the headlights. Under the hood, the Tourneo was introduced with either a 1.5-liter engine with 114 horsepower,  or a 2.0-liter diesel with 122 horses. In the Ford world, they’re called the EcoBoost (gasoline) and EcoBlue (diesel) engines. But they’re also known as Volkswagen’s TSI (gas) and TDI (diesel) four-cylinder engines. For the 2024 Ford Tourneo Van, Ford modernized a bit by offering a plug-in hybrid option with 228 horses.