MAKERS Co., Ltd.
Fukuoka-based Japanese mobility group operating the KeiCafe kei-car dealership chain, vehicle inspection, insurance, rental-car and IT businesses.
Last updated September 28, 2026
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Overview
MAKERS Co., Ltd. (株式会社メーカーズ) is a Japanese automobile sales and mobility-services company headquartered in Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is the core operating subsidiary of MAKERS Group Co., Ltd. (メーカーズグループ株式会社), a holding company established in 2017 that also controls the automotive-industry IT developer Leadit System and the Sri Lanka-based overseas unit MAKERS CEYLON MOBILITY (PVT) LTD. The group traces its origin to the MAKERS Project founded in 1991 by Tsuyoshi Shirai, which was reorganized into MAKERS Co., Ltd. in 1992. The company began as a low-price used-car dealer and later became known nationally as a rotary-engine specialist through its "Seven Powers" (セブンパワーズ) shop, which handled sales, maintenance and tuning of rotary-engine Mazda vehicles and even supplied overhauled engines to dealers and institutions. After rotary-engine production ended and sports-car demand declined, MAKERS withdrew from that specialty business (Hiroshima store in 2008, Fukuoka store in 2012) and pivoted to the kei-car (light automobile) market from 2005. Today the group's flagship retail brand is "KeiCafe" (ケイカフェ), a kei-car specialty store with an attached café concept, operating across Fukuoka, Saga and Okinawa. Related operations include the vehicle-inspection chain "I♡車検", the insurance agency "KeiCafe Hoken IFA", the rental-car businesses "Mitsubishi Rent-a-Car" and "United Rent-a-Car", and the body-repair operation "BP集中センター". The group reports roughly 250 consolidated employees, about 50,000 vehicles serviced annually, and celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2025, when it also launched an international mobility business and opened a Tokyo office. MAKERS positions itself not merely as a car seller but as a "community hub" for the regions it serves, under the corporate philosophy "未来をMAKEする" (Make the future). It has received recognition from Suzuki Motor Corporation, including a national best-seller award for kei vehicles in 2019, and is known within the industry for its workplace practices and for hosting study visits from hundreds of peer companies.
History
MAKERS began in 1991 as the "MAKERS Project" in Fukuoka, founded by Tsuyoshi Shirai, and was incorporated as MAKERS Co., Ltd. in 1992. It started out selling low-priced used cars. In 1998 the company opened "Seven Powers" (セブンパワーズ), described as Kyushu's first rotary-engine specialty shop, located at what is now the KeiCafe Onojo store. The shop became a rotary-engine specialist covering sales, maintenance and tuning, including engine overhauls and CPU setting, and supplied overhauled engines to dealers and institutions such as the Hiroshima City Transportation Museum. It also ran a self-built RX-7 racing machine in the Super Taikyu endurance series, entering seriously in 2003 and taking its first class victory at the Okayama International Circuit in 2006. The company entered the aftermarket business in 2002 and achieved cumulative RX-7 sales of 1,000 units in Fukuoka and Hiroshima. As emissions regulations ended production of rotary-engine vehicles and sports-car demand waned, MAKERS withdrew from the rotary specialty business, closing its Hiroshima store in 2008 and its Fukuoka store in 2012 (the site became the KeiCafe Onojo store). Meanwhile, the company had entered the kei-car (light automobile) business in 2005, and in 2007 opened the kei unused-car specialty store "KeiCafe Chikushino". Rental-car operations began in 2008. Through the 2010s the KeiCafe network expanded with stores in Shingu (2011), Kurume (2013), Yahata (2015), Kokura-Minami (2016), Iizuka (2017) and Fukuoka-Nishi (2018), and the headquarters moved to Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City in 2018. In 2017 the group established MAKERS Group Co., Ltd. as a holding company and founded the IT subsidiary Leadit System, which develops systems specialized for the automotive industry. In 2019 MAKERS received Suzuki Motor Corporation's "national best-seller award" for its kei-vehicle sales division, and opened the company-led childcare facility "Fukushige Hoikuen". A subscription service, "Sheren-Ta Fukuoka", began in 2020. In 2024 the group opened a rental-car base in Tomigusuku, Okinawa, and a KeiCafe store in Tosu, Saga, and expanded rental operations under the Mitsubishi Rent-a-Car and United Rent-a-Car names, including Fukuoka Airport stores. In 2025, its 35th anniversary year, MAKERS launched an international mobility business focused on vehicle exports mainly to Sri Lanka, opened a Tokyo office in Shinjuku, and set out a "10-year roadmap" redefining its philosophy as "未来をMAKEする" (Make the future). The group also runs a monthly children's cafeteria at the KeiCafe Fukuoka-Nishi store.
- 2026
Tokyo office opening listed in company timeline
- 2025
35th anniversary; international mobility business launched; Tokyo office opened; 10-year roadmap and new philosophy announced
- 2024
Rental-car base opened in Tomigusuku, Okinawa; KeiCafe Tosu opened in Saga
- 2020
Subscription service "Sheren-Ta Fukuoka" launched
- 2019
Received Suzuki national best-seller award; Fukushige Hoikuen childcare facility opened
- 2018
KeiCafe Fukuoka-Nishi opened; headquarters moved to Nishi-ku, Fukuoka
- 2017
MAKERS Group Co., Ltd. established; Leadit System founded; KeiCafe Iizuka and MAKERS Premium Fukuoka opened
- 2016
KeiCafe Kokura-Minami store opened
- 2015
KeiCafe Yahata store opened
- 2013
KeiCafe Kurume store opened
Products and positioning
Regional mobility and community-hub brand: kei-car retail with café concept, one-stop sales/service/insurance/rental, and a stated mission to "raise the temperature" of local communities.
KeiCafe kei-car specialty stores
Kei-car dealership with attached café, selling new, unused and used vehicles with maintenance.
I♡車検
Vehicle inspection specialty service.
KeiCafe Hoken IFA
Insurance agency.
United Rent-a-Car / Mitsubishi Rent-a-Car
Rental-car operations in Fukuoka and Okinawa.
BP集中センター
Body repair and paint center.
Leadit System automotive IT
Systems development and sales specialized for the automotive industry.
Sources5 sources
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