The Mazda 121. Why?

[mrs quoad]

I've seen a couple of Mazda 121s around town, and've found myself thinking 'hang on, that's blatantly a Ford Fiesta.'

I've been meaning to google for ages, and finally got around to it this evening.

OK, so. It's a rebadged Ford Fiesta.

Why?

What (if any) are the differences, and why - in the specific instance of the Mazda 121 - did they choose to put it out there? In terms of both Ford and Mazda's motivation?

Wiki did not tell me, though tbf I wouldn't be surprised if a more involved google had.

 

[pogofish]

Not exactly rebadged - Mazda and Kia both built Models for Ford in the Asian market and the deal allowed them to sell a percentage under their own names.

Saved greatly on production/shipping costs and import duties for Ford and on production/development costs for Mazda/Kia.

TBH, it is not that unusual - Quite a few models end-up being produced by different manufacturers for specific markets and you also have the likes of Magna and Karmann who produce models for several marques at the same time.

 

[mauvais]

It's just badge engineering. Ford used to have a stake in Mazda. Ford shifts more cars and Mazda saves on R&D for that model. Maybe someone somewhere decided they didn't have much cross-shopping, i.e. the average Mazda buyers were less likely to buy a Ford, or maybe they were so closely related that it didn't matter.