Ford Laser: the Ford that was really a Mazda 323

The Ford Laser was a compact car sold by Ford in Asia, Oceania, parts of South America and Africa, generally as a sedan or hatchback. It was a restyled version of the Mazda Familia and 323, which Ford could do because it had bought a 25 per cent stake in Mazda in 1979.

Ford Laser at a glance

This page is based on English Wikipedia only.

History of the Ford Laser

A Mazda with a Ford badge

The Laser was a restyled version of the Mazda Familia and 323 models that Mazda built in Japan from 1980 onwards, made possible by Ford’s 25 per cent stake in Mazda. Sharing platforms and assembly lines with the Japanese-built Familia let Ford offer the Laser in Japan with a range of engines, paints and trims not available anywhere else, including several turbocharged versions, unique bodies such as a cabriolet and full-time four-wheel-drive models years before they appeared elsewhere. In Japan the Laser was sold alongside the Ford Telstar and Festiva at special Autorama dealerships.

The first generation

The KA Laser, the Australian model code, was built under licence from Mazda and introduced in March 1981, replacing the rear-wheel-drive Escort in Australia. It came as a three- and five-door hatchback and as a four-door sedan badged Ford Meteor, and was sold at first only with a 1.3-litre engine; the 1.1-litre unit never reached Australia, while 1.5-litre versions were added later and eventually a turbocharged one. In January 1983 a facelift made it the KB, with light changes at the rear and a new front that matched Ford’s corporate look. In Japan the same car was the “BE” Laser, matching the BD code of the Familia, and the first Japanese Lasers went on sale in late 1982.

Australia, New Zealand and Asia

Lasers were also assembled in New Zealand at Ford’s Wiri plant in Auckland, replacing the Mk 2 Escort, and sold there as hatchback and sedan without the Meteor name; the Mazda 323 later joined it on the same line. New Zealand hatchbacks came with 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5-litre engines and sedans with the same choice, the Ghia having an automatic option. In Australia and New Zealand the Laser outsold its Mazda twin, and Ford Australia research in 1984 found that a third of Laser buyers did not know their car was based on the Mazda 323; in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan the reverse was true, while the Laser also sold in South America, South Africa and the Caribbean, often assembled locally.

Design and features

• Mazda engineering: a restyled Familia and 323 with Ford badges.
• Australian replacement: took the place of the rear-wheel-drive Escort in 1981.
• Japanese specials: turbo and four-wheel-drive versions sold only in Japan.
• Meteor sedan: the four-door version sold in Australia from 1982.

Ford Laser versions

• Laser KA (1981–1983): the first Australian generation.
• Laser KB (1983): the facelifted version with a new front.
• Ford Meteor: the four-door sedan in Australia and South Africa.
• Japanese turbo and 4WD Lasers: sold only in Japan.
• New Zealand assembly: hatchbacks and sedans built at Wiri.

The Laser replaced the Escort in Australia and was sold alongside the Telstar and Festiva in Asia. More Ford vehicles are in the Ford collection.

Sources

• Ford Laser, English Wikipedia: origins, first generation, markets