Big Motor
A Big Motor dealership in Tama, Tokyo, Japan. | |
Native name | 株式会社ビッグモーター |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Biggumōtā |
| Company type | Private |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founder | Hiroyuki Kaneshige |
| Defunct | 2024 |
| Fate | Purchased by Itochu and rebranded as WECARS, liabilities handled by spinoff Balm Co. |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Number of locations | 300 (2023) |
Area served | Japan |
Key people |
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| ¥5.756 billion (2011) | |
| ¥3.325 billion (2011) | |
| Total assets | ¥56.322 billion (2011) |
Number of employees | 6,000 (2023) |
| Website | Archived website |
Big Motor (BIGMOTOR Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社ビッグモーター, Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Biggumōtā)) was a Japanese automotive retailer. Formerly the largest used car dealer in Japan, in 2023 the company was hit by a series of scandals and allegations of widespread, systematic insurance fraud. The allegations led to the resignation of its founder and president, Hiroyuki Kaneshige, Japan's Financial Services Agency revoking the company's insurance agent registration, and ultimately the sale of the company to Itochu general trading company, which rebranded the company into WECARS. The allegations also implicated insurance company Sompo Japan, which was accused of purposely ignoring the fraud to preserve its business relationship with Big Motor. The Big Motor scandal has prompted a greater reassessment of Japan's insurance industry and investigations into the largest Japanese insurance firms.