AUTOMOBILE CONGLOMERATES (WHO OWNS WHAT?)

Do you know what's better than automotive content written by a medical student? Yes, it's automotive content written my an actual medical doctor, an anaesthesiologist in fact! I want you TurboNerdz to put on your seat belts as Dr Temi Wisdom takes you on a ride, enlightening you on what companies make the world's most popular vehicle brands. This is definitely going to be an interesting ride, so hop on and get comfy. 

Source: Car Interior

A lot of automobile brands have been made popular over the years, carving out niches for themselves in luxury, performance, reliability, off-roading and second-hand value (mostly in developing countries). It is also interesting to note that many of these brands do not stand alone but exist in a conglomerate that houses other vehicle brands as subsidiaries, with some conglomerates having more than one popular brand.

In this article, we would talk about major conglomerates and the respective brands under them. Let’s delve into it…

VOLKSWAGEN GROUP (VW) 

VW was founded in Germany in 1937 by Ferdinand Porsche with Hitler’s backing. Today, it is arguably the biggest vehicle conglomerate in the world, housing brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, SEAT, Cupra, MAN, Scania, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati motorcycles.

Vehicle brands under VW; Source: Consultancy.uk  

TurboNerdz, be honest, did you know that your favourite Lambo truck was under VW? Well, that's just the tip of the iceberg; Relax and enjoy the rest of this read (wink).

GENERAL MOTORS (GM) COMPANY 

GM was founded as a holding company by William Durant in 1908. It was also the largest automaker in the USA from 1931 till 2008 when it got surpassed by Toyota Motors. Following filing for bankruptcy in 2009 and government bailout, General Motors reorganised and shed off brands like Saab & Pontiac. They also sold Opel and Vauxhall to the Peugeot group in 2017 prior to their merger with Fiat-Chrysler to form Stellantis group. Today, General Motors Company has majorly four brands, namely Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick.

Vehicle brands under GM; Source: KBAK

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. 

Toyota was founded in Japan also in 1937 like VW, by Kichiro Toyoda. It's now common knowledge that Toyota makes Lexus vehicles, but there's more. Toyota has the largest market cap of all automobile companies. Brands under Toyota include Toyota motors, Lexus, Daihatsu and Scion (now defunct).

Vehicle brands under Toyota; Source: Fabrik Brands

STELLANTIS GROUP 

Stellantis was founded in 2021 in what one would call a “merger of mergers”. The Fiat Chrysler group, itself being a merger of the Italian Fiat and American Chrysler which was finalized in 2014. The other party involved was the Peugeot group. It currently has its headquarter in Netherlands. Stellantis group has about 14 brands with which it sells vehicles. They are Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa – Romeo, Peugeot, Opel, Dodge, Maserati, Vauxhall, Ram trucks, Jeep, Citroen, DS, Lancia, Abarth.

Vehicle brands under Stellantis; Source: Motor1

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY 

Hyundai was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1937 and is headquartered in South Korea. This company manufactures Hyundai Motors, KIA and Genesis.

Vehicle brands under Hyundai; Source: Fabrik Brands

GEELY MOTOR GROUP

Geely was founded in 1997 by Eric Li as a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It is headquartered in China. It is also China’s first privately owned auto manufacturer. Geely acquired Volvo Car Corp. from Ford Motors in 2010 and Lotus from a Malaysian automotive company in 2017. It also established Smart automobile Co. as a joint venture with Mercedes Benz. Today, Geely houses Geely autos, Geometry, Volvo, Polestar, Proton, Lotus, Smart & Lynk&Co.

Vehicle brands under Geely ;Source: Geely Holding

MERCEDES BENZ GROUP 

Mercedes was the result of an agreement of mutual interest signed between Benz & Cie founded by Carl Benz in 1883 and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft founded in 1890 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. In 1926, they formally both became Daimler Benz. It once went with the name Daimler Chrysler after a “merger of equals” in 1998. However, Chrysler was sold in 2007. In 2022, the group was officially renamed the “Mercedes Benz Group”, separating the heavy vehicles unit; Daimler Truck into a stand-alone company. Today, the Mercedes Benz group oversees the production of Mercedes Benz vehicles, Mercedes Maybach and holds Smart in a 50/50 joint venture with Geely motor group.

Vehicle brands under Mercedes ;Source: Fabrik Brands

FORD MOTOR COMPANY 

Ford was founded by Henry Ford in 1903 and has its headquarter in Michigan, USA. The company introduced moving assembly lines for the manufacturing of automobiles on a large scale. It also once owned Jaguar and Land Rover which it sold to Tata Motors in 2008 and Volvo motors which it sold to Geely motor group in 2010. It also owned the once popular Mercury brand which is now discontinued. Today, Ford Motor Company makes Ford Motors and Lincoln as its luxury division.

Vehicle brands under Ford; Source: Carsome

BMW GROUP 

BMW was said to have been co-founded by 3 men named Gustav Otto, Franz Josef Popp and Camillo Castiglioni in Bavaria, Germany. It was officially launched in 1916. It oversees the production of the BMW vehicles and Motorcycles, Rolls Royce and Mini; popular for making the Cooper.

Vehicle brands under Ford; Source: Carsome

HONDA MOTOR COMPANY 

Honda was founded in 1946 by Soichiro Honda and is headquartered in Japan. Asides being the largest motorcycle manufacturer in 1959, they also manufacture Honda vehicles and Acura; which is their luxury division.

Vehicle brands under Honda; Source: Fabrik Brands

RENAULT – NISSAN – MITSUBISHI ALLIANCE 

This alliance is a special French – Japanese Alliance that started with Renault and Nissan in 1999. Mitsubishi joined the group in 2017 after Nissan acquired a majority stake in Mitsubishi motors. Often called the “Carlos Ghosn Alliance” as he played a major role in the merger till his arrest and dismissal from the alliance in 2018 following accusation of corruption and misuse of company assets. Today, the alliance oversees major brands such as Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Infiniti, Renault Korea (formerly known as Renault Samsung; yes, the same Samsung!), Dacia, Alpine and Verucia.

Vehicle brands under the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Allaince; Source: WhichCar

TATA MOTORS

Tata motors is an Indian automaker founded by Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata in 1945. In 2008, Tata motors bought Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motors for a reported $2.3b. They subsequently acquired Daewoo’s heavy vehicle unit and IVECO. Popular subsidiaries of Tata Motors include Tata, Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover, Iveco and Tata Daewoo.

Vehicle brands under Tata; Source: Gomechanic

EXTRAS

Other notable conglomerates include the Chinese automaker CHERY GROUP with Chery, Jetour, Exeed, Crown Auto and Karry. There’s also another Chinese automaker in BYD with subsidiaries like BYD motors, Yangwang, Denza and Fangchengbao. Additionally, MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA limited; an Indian automaker oversees Mahindra, the popular Pininfarina and Automobili Pininfarina. More so, the SAIC group, BAIC group, Changan, GWM, JAC and more that would take a while to completely talk about.

Dr. Temi Wisdom 

I know this has been a long read and undoubtedly interesting read, thank you sticking until the end. I hope you were able to learn a thing or two. Let me know which of these details surprised you the most? Please drop your opinions, questions, suggestion and additions in the comments section! Until next time, always remember to Turbo that engine!