The motor industry can seem daunting on the surface; dozens of car brands competing for buyers, with hundreds of models available across every segment. From household names like Toyota and Ford to luxury marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce, the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n
But behind those familiar badges is a much smaller group of massive companies shaping the direction of the global car market.<\/p>\n
Roughly two dozen major automakers control the vast majority of the world’s car brands. Some, like Toyota and BMW, oversee just a few nameplates, while others, like\u00a0Stellantis, Volkswagen Group, and Geely, manage sprawling portfolios that stretch from affordable daily drivers to six-figure supercars.<\/p>\n
So who owns who? We’ve broken down every major automotive group \u2013 and the brands it controls through majority ownership \u2013 to make sense of one of the world’s most interconnected industries.<\/p>\n
America<\/p>\n
For a number of years in the US there is \u201cThe Big Three\u201d: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Today, it\u2019s mostly just the big two \u2013 Ford and GM \u2013 with a few independent players vying for market share.<\/p>\n
Ford Motor Company owns the Ford brand and its luxurious Lincoln offshoot, while GM has Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC under its belt. In the last few years, there\u2019s also been four major EV startups in the US: Lucid, Rivian, Slate, and Tesla.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ford Motor Company<\/p>\n
Ford
Lincoln
General Motors
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
GMC<\/p>\n
Independents<\/p>\n
Lucid
Rivian
Slate
Tesla<\/p>\n
China<\/p>\n
This is where the list gets more complicated. In fact, there\u2019s an entire Wikipedia entry to help you parse the dozens of brands and multiple ownership groups largely specific to that region. Simply put: There are 12 major automakers in China and around 70 active consumer vehicle brands, depending on how you define them (some sources put that number at over 100).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Similar to the US, before 2010, there was a \u201cBig Four\u201d in China made up of\u00a0SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng, and Changan. And those remain some of the largest automakers in China, each with a handful of brands. But over the last few years, the market has grown to a dozen, and a few independents operating just one brand.<\/p>\n
Anhui\u00a0Jianghuai Automobile Group Corporation (JAC)<\/p>\n
JAC Motors
JAC Refine
JAC Yiwei<\/p>\n
Beijing Automotive Group Company (BAIC)<\/p>\n
Arcfox
Beijing
Beijing Off-road
Foton<\/p>\n
BYD Auto<\/p>\n
BYD
Denza
Fangchengbao
Linghui
Yangwang<\/p>\n
Chery Automobile<\/p>\n
Chery
Exeed
iCar
Jetour<\/p>\n
China\u00a0Changan Automobile Group<\/p>\n
Avatr
Changan Auto
Deepal
Kaicene<\/p>\n
China First Automobile Works Group Corporation (FAW)<\/p>\n
Bestune
Hongqi
Jiefang
Yueyi<\/p>\n
Dongfeng Motor Corporation<\/p>\n
Aeolus
Dongfeng Nammi
Forthing
M-Hero
Voyah<\/p>\n
Great Wall Motor (GWM)<\/p>\n
Haval
Ora
Tank
Wey<\/p>\n
Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC)<\/p>\n
Aion
Hyptec
Trumpchi<\/p>\n
Seres Group<\/p>\n
AITO
DFSK
Fengon
Seres<\/p>\n
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC)<\/p>\n
Baojun
IM
Maxus
MG
Nanjing-Iveco<\/p>\n
Rising Auto<\/p>\n
Roewe
Sunwin
Wuling
Yuejin<\/p>\n
Zhejiang\u00a0Geely Holding Group (Geely)<\/p>\n
Farizon
Geely
Ji Yue
Livan
Lynk & Co
LEVC
Lotus
Polestar
Proton
Smart (50% With Mercedes-Benz)
Volvo
Zeekr<\/p>\n
Independents<\/p>\n
Beijing Car And Home Information Technology (Li Auto)
Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology (Xpeng)
Huawei
Rox Motor
Shanghai Nio Automobile (Nio)
Xiaomi Automobile
Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology (Leapmotor)<\/p>\n
Europe<\/p>\n
For the European market, there\u2019s a much easier path to understanding who owns who but it\u2019s not without some perplexity. There are six major automakers headquartered in Europe, ranging in region from Munich and the UK to France and Croatia.<\/p>\n
Based solely on the sheer number of brands it owns,\u00a0Stellantis is the largest automaker with 13 active brands. Volkswagen comes in second on the brand front with nine active brands following a recent restructuring, with smaller players like BMW Group and Bugatti Rimac owning just a handful of brands.<\/p>\n
It should also be noted that Europe has the largest number of independent automakers, with at least 11 major players in the space ranging from Ferrari to Ineos. There\u2019s probably a much longer list if you include many of the tiny automakers that aren\u2019t mentioned here.<\/p>\n
BMW Group<\/p>\n
BMW
Mini
Rolls-Royce
Bugatti Rimac
Bugatti
Rimac<\/p>\n
Mercedes-Benz<\/p>\n
Mercedes-Benz
Smart (50% With Geely)<\/p>\n
Renault Group<\/p>\n
Alpine
Dacia
Mobilize
Renault<\/p>\n
Stellantis<\/p>\n
Abarth
Alfa Romeo
Chrysler
Citroen
Dodge
DS
Fiat
Jeep
Lancia
Maserati
Opel
Peugeot
Ram
Vauxhall<\/p>\n
Volkswagen Group<\/p>\n
Audi
Bentley
Cupra
Lamborghini
Porsche
Seat
Scout
Skoda
Volkswagen<\/p>\n
Independents<\/p>\n
Aston Martin
Ariel
Caterham
Donkervoort
Ferrari
Gordon Murray
Ineos
Morgan Motor
Pagani
Koenigsegg
Zenvo<\/p>\n
India<\/p>\n
India often gets left out of the conversation when talking about major auto conglomerates, but\u00a0Tata Motors and Mahindra Group remain two of the largest globally. Mahindra Group operates one of the biggest auto brands in the region, Mahindra, and also purchased Pininfarina in 2015.<\/p>\n
Tata Motors owns the larger JLR group, which includes Jaguar and Land Rover. But it also operates Tata Daewoo and Tata Hitachi, two companies known for their affordable commuter cars.<\/p>\n
Mahindra Group<\/p>\n
Mahindra
Pininfarina<\/p>\n
Tata Motors<\/p>\n
Jaguar
Land Rover
Tata Daewoo
Tata Hitachi<\/p>\n
Japan<\/p>\n
The largest automaker in the world is headquartered in Japan, with the Toyota Motor Corporation having four brands under its belt:\u00a0Daihatsu, Hino, Lexus, and Toyota.<\/p>\n
The larger Honda Motor Company owns\u00a0Acura and Honda, while the Nissan Motor Company owns Nissan and Infiniti. There are also a few independents in the region that you may know: Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Suzuki.<\/p>\n
Toyota Motor Corporation<\/p>\n
Daihatsu
Hino
Lexus
Toyota<\/p>\n
Honda Motor Company<\/p>\n
Acura
Honda<\/p>\n
Nissan Motor Company<\/p>\n
Infiniti
Nissan<\/p>\n
Independents<\/p>\n
Mazda
Mitsubishi
Subaru
Suzuki<\/p>\n
Korea<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one major player in Korea: Hyundai Motor Group. The nation\u2019s largest automaker owns the Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia brands, and regularly ranks in the top three largest automakers worldwide (just behind Toyota and Volkswagen in 2025).<\/p>\n
There is also KG Mobility, or\u00a0KGM (formerly SsangYong Motor), that makes pickup trucks, SUVs, and a few small cars for the region. KGM is independently owned and operates its own brand, as it has since 1954.<\/p>\n
Hyundai Motor Group<\/p>\n
Genesis
Hyundai
Kia<\/p>\n
Independent<\/p>\n
KG Mobility (KGM)<\/p>\n
Vietnam<\/p>\n
This list wouldn\u2019t be complete without Vietnam\u2019s first and only large-scale auto manufacturer:\u00a0VinFast. Founded in 2017, the EV maker put down roots in Europe in 2018 and in the US in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Independent<\/p>\n
Vinfast<\/p>\n
With thanks to our friends at Motor1.com<\/a><\/p>\n We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n