Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. announced a new North American headquarters in October 2015 as the company prepared to celebrate its 50th anniversary in the United States. The move kept Kawasaki in Orange County while providing considerably more room for its corporate, technical and product-development operations.
The company selected a roughly 200,000-square-foot facility at 26972 Burbank in Foothill Ranch, California. Located about four miles from Kawasaki’s former Irvine headquarters, the building became the company’s new U.S. base in 2016.
Kawasaki’s New Foothill Ranch Headquarters
Kawasaki signed a 15-year lease on the Foothill Ranch property. The location allowed the company to keep more than 300 employees in the same general Orange County area while creating a facility designed around the Kawasaki brand and its products.
Plans for the headquarters included:
- Corporate offices
- Research and development space
- Racing and technical workshops
- Warehouse facilities
- Additional employee and vehicle parking
- More natural light and environmentally conscious building improvements
H. Hendy Associates handled the interior design, while CBRE represented Kawasaki and the building’s landlord during the site-selection and leasing process.
“Our purpose in securing a new corporate headquarters is centered around two primary objectives,” Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. President and CEO Masa Nakagawa said when the project was announced. “First, with more than 300 of our staff being based in or around Orange County it is critical that our new location remain central to the community.”
Nakagawa added that Kawasaki wanted the new workplace to reflect the company’s products, brand and corporate culture as it entered its 50th year in the United States.
Celebrating 50 Years of Kawasaki in America
Kawasaki established its American sales operation in 1966. Over the following five decades, the company expanded well beyond motorcycles to distribute ATVs, Kawasaki side-by-sides, Jet Ski personal watercraft and other powersports products.
For the UTV market, that American presence helped support the growth of the Kawasaki MULE utility vehicle family and the recreational Kawasaki Teryx lineup. Both became important parts of Kawasaki’s powersports business in the United States.
Kawasaki formally celebrated its 50th anniversary in America during 2016 and held an open house at the new Foothill Ranch headquarters later that year.
Kawasaki Headquarters Remains in Foothill Ranch
Update: Kawasaki continues to list 26972 Burbank in Foothill Ranch as the headquarters of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. The facility remains the company’s primary American corporate location as Kawasaki marks 60 years in the United States in 2026.
Kawasaki also maintains manufacturing and other operations across the country. Its American manufacturing presence includes facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Learn more about the company’s American operations through the official Kawasaki U.S. history, or explore additional Kawasaki UTV news, reviews and model coverage on UTV Guide.
