Overview
Big Motor (ビッグモーター), stylized in all caps as BIGMOTOR, is a company that handles car buying, used car sales, and car inspections. Headquartered in Minato City, Tokyo. The company was founded by Hiroyuki Kaneshige (former CEO) in his hometown of Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and has been in operation since then.
As of May 2023, the company has "6,000 employees and more than 300 stores nationwide". On its official website, the company claims that it has been "Japan's No. 1 in the number of shares purchased for six consecutive years". Despite the company's size and track record, it is an unlisted company and a subsidiary of Big Asset Co.
Sompo Japan, with which the company is said to have a close relationship, was the second largest shareholder after the founder (source).
The commercials featured actors Masahiko Nishimura, Nao Omori and Ryuta Sato. However, following a series of scandals on the part of Big Motor, which will be discussed later, Sato voluntarily withdrew from the commercials.
Scandals
Insurance Fraud
On July 6, 2023, a massive fraudulent auto insurance claim was reported in various media outlets. Previously, in March 2022, a whistleblower revealed the problem, and a special investigation committee was subsequently established on January 30, 2023.
Accordingly, Representative Director and President Hiroyuki Kaneshige (along with Vice President and President Kaneshige's own son, Koichi Kaneshige) resigned as of July 26, 2023.
The problems are said to have been caused by the extreme profit supremacy within the company, excessive demotion and leftward transfer of personnel, which are as close to black as possible, and resignation maneuvering of power harassment itself, which became rampant after former vice president Koichi took control of the company's operations.
Furthermore, the former vice president's business plan from 2019 included a quota that would not have been imposed if he knew the current state of the used car industry: "We will triple the number of repair shops under our control within 5 to 10 years to strengthen sales in the sheet metal painting department (which only accounts for 2-3% of sales in the used car business)". The fact that the company imposed quotas that would not have been imposed if they had been aware of the current state of the used car industry, became a hotbed for the above-mentioned fraud.
In addition to some customers, Big Motor was also exposed to cases where it attempted to offer and sign fictitious insurance plans for vehicles that would not normally be covered by insurance, such as rental cars and loaner cars.
Abuse of Power
Power harassment, the source of the aforementioned insurance fraud, is quite serious.
A former manager at the Kakamigahara branch in Gifu Prefecture is suing the company for damages, claiming that he was forced to leave the company due to power harassment and that he has developed depression.
Related Articles
BIGMOTOR Big Motor Vice President's Syntax Automobile Used Car Vehicle Inspection Business Sector
External Links
Japanese
ビッグモーター｜車の買取・販売・車検なら「買取台数6年連続日本一」BIGMOTOR（ビッグモーター） (Official Website)
ビッグモーターとは [単語記事] - ニコニコ大百科 (NicoNico Encyclopedia)
