Car-makers are some of the most recognisable brands in our daily lives. They can be true household names, known right across the world. But many of these brands are now grouped together as part of larger corporations, which begs the question: who owns what?
This isn’t just trivia for car nerds. The relationship between the various automotive brands explains a lot about the similarities (and the differences) that exist between them.
Of course, it’s not a given that two brands within a larger automaker group will share any sort of DNA. Jeep and Ferrari, for instance, were briefly stablemates under the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) banner, and we doubt you’ll find any commonality between them whatsoever. Conversely, there are instances of entirely separate brands collaborating on shared projects. In Europe, a classic example was the first-generation Toyota Aygo, which was essentially the same car as the Peugeot 107 and the Citroen C1.
We’ll get back to which car company owns what in a moment, but first let’s take a look at why so many corporations own multiple brands.
Here's Who Owns Which Car Brands
- Platform Sharing
- What Does this Mean for Consumers?
- Who Owns What?
- Car Corporations by Brand
- Car Corporations
Platform Sharing
There are many factors that can cause one car manufacturer to acquire another, ranging from economies of scale to cutting out a potential rival. In some cases, it allows the corporation to expand into new areas, such as German firm Volkswagen’s acquisition of luxury British brand Bentley back in 1998. Similarly, it’s not unknown for large manufacturers to spin-off their own separate companies to tackle new markets, such as Volvo’s all-electric vehicle brand Polestar (both of which are subsidiaries of parent company Geely, a company from China).
One of the great benefits of owning several brands is that it provides an ideal environment for platform sharing. This is where the same core design concept is adapted to suit multiple different vehicles – often being lengthened, widened or shrunk in the process.
The Volkswagen Group (officially known as Volkswagen AG and based in Germany) is particularly adept at this. At the latest count, it has nine car brands (and that’s before you get into the fact that the same firm also own Ducati, which makes motorcycles), most of which share significant elements of their technology with at least one sister company. The Bentley Bentayga, for instance, uses the same fundamental platform – known as MEB Evo – as the Audi Q7.
What Does this Mean for Consumers?
Under the skin, some cars are extremely similar to others built on the same platform. Even then, small changes to things like the suspension setup, the exterior styling or the equipment offered on each model can result in very different cars. Large car corporations tend to position each of their brands for a slightly different market. You might, for instance, have the practical one, the sporty one and the luxurious one: think of the Skoda Octavia, Seat Leon and Volkswagen Golf, which are all very similar underneath.
Fundamentally, though, it does mean that the same standard of engineering has gone into the design of each car; the seats may not be as comfy and the engine may not be as powerful, but the same rigour has been applied to things like safety and reliability.
The main reason for doing this is to save costs. Even if the finished cars are built in completely different factories, the cost of developing them can be spread between the brands. Without these cost-sharing opportunities it’s doubtful that manufacturers would be able to develop as many different models, so there would almost certainly be less choice out there for consumers.
In theory, shared parts can also help to reduce maintenance costs, and potentially even reduce insurance premiums if the vehicle is easier to repair.
Who Owns What?
The automotive industry’s family tree would be enough to give a genealogist nightmares. A lot of brands have undergone multiple changes of ownership during their lifetime; some have been withdrawn from particular markets, but continue to prosper elsewhere; and others have been dormant for decades only to reappear. The North American market, in particular, has seen a considerable amount of upheaval in the last two decades, with names like Plymouth, Pontiac, Saturn, Mercury and Oldsmobile being withdrawn from sale.
And because business never stops, this landscape is constantly evolving, so it’s easy to lose track of the current situation. For instance it wasn’t all that long ago that Europe had two huge carmakers in the form of French company PSA (which owned Peugeot, Citroen, and DS, among others) and Italian firm FCA (which owned Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Abarth, among others). But then, in 2021, these two huge companies merged to form a new manufacturing leviathan known as Stellantis.
You also find that some names disappear altogether, even though the company still exists. For instance, since 1926, the company that makes Mercedes cars has been called Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG, but although barely anything has changed within the company, the Daimler name has been lost, the firm being rebranded as Mercedes-Benz Group in 2022.
Sometimes, the relationship between between brands is much simpler and easier to define. Take Japanese company Toyota, for example. Most of the firm’s more humdrum hatchbacks and SUVs are marketed under the Toyota name (which has a reputation for reliable, no-nonsense) vehicles, while the Lexus badge, the same firm’s luxury brand, is used on the company’s luxury sedans and SUVs (although both brands offer a handful of sports cars).
To keep things simple, we’ve drawn up two lists. One shows who owns which brand, and the other lists the companies owned by each major car corporation. We’ve narrowed these down to brands that are currently active in the UK, US and Canada. We’re mostly focusing on those that are part of larger groups, but the first list also includes a handful of independent companies that are commonly assumed to be owned by someone else.
Car Corporations by Brand
- Abarth: Stellantis
- Acura: Honda Motor Co
- Alfa Romeo: Stellantis
- Alpina: BMW Group
- Alpine: Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
- Aston Martin: Aston Martin Lagonda Group Limited
- Audi: Volkswagen AG
- Bentley: Volkswagen AG
- Bugatti: Volkswagen AG
- BMW: BMW Group
- Buick: General Motors
- Cadillac: General Motors
- Chevrolet: General Motors
- Chrysler: Stellantis
- Citroen: Stellantis
- Cupra: Volkswagen AG
- Dacia: Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
- Dodge: Stellantis
- DS: Stellantis
- Ferrari: Ferrari NV
- Fiat: Stellantis
- Ford: Ford Motor Company
- Genesis: Hyundai Motor Group
- GMC: General Motors
- Honda: Honda Motor Co
- Hummer: General Motors
- Hyundai: Hyundai Motor Group
- Infiniti: Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
- Jaguar: Tata Motors
- Jeep: Stellantis
- Kia: Hyundai Motor Group
- Lamborghini: Volkswagen AG
- Land Rover: Tata Motors
- LEVC: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
- Lexus: Toyota Motor Corporation
- Lincoln: Ford Motor Company
- Lotus: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
- Lucid: Lucid Group
- Lync & Co: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
- Maserati: Stellantis
- Mazda: Mazda Motor Corporation (Toyota owns a 5% share)
- Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
- MG: SAIC Motor Corporation (Chinese state-owned)
- MINI: BMW Group
- Mitsubishi: Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
- Nissan: Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
- Peugeot: Stellantis
- Polestar: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
- Porsche: Volkswagen AG
- Ram: Stellantis
- Renault: Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance
- Rivian: Rivian (Ford and Amazon are minor shareholders)
- Rolls-Royce: BMW Group
- Seat: Volkswagen AG
- Skoda: Volkswagen AG
- Smart: Joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely
- SsangYong: Mahindra Group
- Subaru: Subaru Corporation
- Suzuki: Suzuki Motor Corporation (Toyota owns a 4.94% share)
- Tesla: Tesla Inc
- Toyota: Toyota Motor Corporation (Suzuki owns a small share, as does Mazda)
- Vauxhall (also known as Opel in Europe): Stellantis
- VinFast: Vingroup
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen AG
- Volvo: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
Car Corporations
- BMW Group: Alpina, BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce
- Ford Motor Company: Ford and Lincoln
- General Motors: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Hummer
- Honda Motor Co: Acura and Honda
- Hyundai Motor Group: Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia
- Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance: Alpine, Dacia, Infiniti, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Renault
- Stellantis: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall (also known as Opel in Europe)
- Tata Motors: Jaguar and Land Rover
- Mercedes-Benz Group AG: Mercedes-Benz and joint-owns Smart
- Toyota Motor Corporation: Lexus and Toyota
- Volkswagen AG: Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Cupra, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Skoda, and Volkswagen
- Zhejiang Geely Holding Group: LEVC, Lotus, Lync & Co, Polestar, Volvo, and joint-owns Smart