Who Owns Who? Every Major Car Brand And Its Parent Company

From Toyota to Ferrari, here's how the global auto industry is really organized.

Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1

By: Jeff Perez

Aug 3, at 12:30pm ET

Add Motor1.com as a preferred source in Google

Comment

The auto industry can seem daunting on the surface; dozens of car brands all elbowing each other for market share, with hundreds of models available across every segment. From household names like Ford and Toyota to luxury marques like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Rolls-Royce, the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming.

But believe it or not, the auto industry is more compact than you think. Behind those familiar badges is a much smaller group of massive companies shaping the direction of the global car market.

Today, roughly two dozen major automakers control the vast majority of the world's passenger car brands. Some, like BMW and Toyota, oversee just a few nameplates, while others, like Stellantis, Volkswagen Group, and Geely, manage sprawling portfolios that stretch from affordable daily drivers to six-figure supercars.

So who owns who? We've broken down every major automotive group by region—and the brands it controls through majority ownership—to make sense of one of the world's most interconnected industries.

America

If you’ve lived in the US long enough, you’ve probably heard the phrase "The Big Three" in relation to America’s three biggest automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. While that may have been true over a decade ago, today, it’s mostly just the big two—Ford and GM—with a few independent players vying for space in the market.

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, we’ve also seen four major EV startups in the US: Lucid, Rivian, Slate, and Tesla (not counting the dozen or so tiny startups that may or may not still exist).

Ford Motor Company

Ford
Lincoln

General Motors

Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
GMC

Independents

Lucid
Rivian
Slate
Tesla

China

This is where the list gets… dense. So dense, in fact, that there’s an entire Wikipedia entry dedicated to the dozens of brands and multiple ownership groups largely specific to that region. Simply put: There are 12 major automakers in China and roughly 70 active consumer vehicle brands, depending on how you define them (some sources will tell you over 100).

Similar to the US, before 2010, there was a "Big Four" in China made up of SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng, and Changan. And those remain some of the largest automakers in the country, each with a handful of brands. But over the last few years, the market has grown to a dozen auto giants, and a few independents operating just one brand (for now).

Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corporation (JAC)

JAC Motors
JAC Refine
JAC Yiwei

Beijing Automotive Group Company (BAIC)

Arcfox
Beijing
Beijing Off-road
Foton

BYD Auto

BYD
Denza
Fangchengbao
Linghui
Yangwang

Chery Automobile

Chery
Exeed
iCar
Jetour

China Changan Automobile Group

Avatr
Changan Auto
Deepal
Kaicene

China First Automobile Works Group Corporation (FAW)

Bestune
Hongqi
Jiefang
Yueyi

Dongfeng Motor Corporation

Aeolus
Dongfeng Nammi
Forthing
M-Hero
Voyah

Great Wall Motor (GWM)

Haval
Ora
Tank
Wey

Guangzhou Automobile Corporation (GAC)

Aion
Hyptec
Trumpchi

Seres Group

AITO
DFSK
Fengon
Seres

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC)

Baojun
IM
Maxus
MG
Nanjing-Iveco
Rising Auto
Roewe
Sunwin
Wuling
Yuejin

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely)

Farizon
Geely
Ji Yue
Livan
Lynk & Co
LEVC
Lotus
Polestar
Proton
Smart (50% With Mercedes-Benz)
Volvo
Zeekr

Indepdendents

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)

Europe

For the European market, there’s a much easier path to understanding who owns who—though it’s not without some perplexity. There are 6 major automakers headquartered in Europe, ranging from Munich and the UK to France and Croatia.

Based solely on the sheer number of brands it owns, Stellantis is the largest automaker with 13 active brands (though that number could be reduced soon). Volkswagen comes in second on the brand front with 9 active brands following a recent restructuring, with smaller players like BMW Group and the relatively newly formed Bugatti Rimac owning just a handful of brands.

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’s probably a much longer list if you include some of the ultra-tiny automakers that aren’t mentioned here.

BMW Group

BMW
Mini
Rolls-Royce

Bugatti Rimac

Bugatti
Rimac

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz
Smart (50% With Geely)

Renault Group

Alpine
Dacia
Mobilize
Renault

Stellantis

Abarth
Alfa Romeo
Chrysler
Citroen
Dodge
DS
Fiat
Jeep
Lancia
Maserati
Opel
Ram
Vauxhall

Volkswagen Group

Audi
Bentley
Cupra
Lamborghini
Porsche
Seat
Scout
Skoda
Volkswagen

Independents

Aston Martin
Ariel
Caterham
Donkervoort
Ferrari
Gordon Murray
Ineos
Morgan Motor
Pagani
Koenigsegg
Zenvo

India

India often gets forgotten when talking about major auto conglomerates, but Tata 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.

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.

Mahindra Group

Mahindra
Pininfarina

Tata Motors

Jaguar
Land Rover
Tata Daewoo
Tata Hitachi

Japan

The largest automaker in the world is headquartered in Japan, with the Toyota Motor Corporation having four brands under its belt: Daihatsu, Hino, Lexus, and Toyota. Americans are probably most familiar with the latter two, but Daihatsu and Hino are two major players for affordable vehicles in Japan.

The larger Honda Motor Company owns Acura 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.

Toyota Motor Corporation

Daihatsu
Hino
Lexus
Toyota

Honda Motor Company

Acura
Honda

Nissan Motor Company

Infiniti
Nissan

Independents

Mazda
Mitsubishi
Subaru
Suzuki

Korea

There’s one major player in Korea: Hyundai Motor Group. The nation’s 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).

What do you think?

View

Comments

But did you know there’s another automaker in Korea? KG Mobility, or KGM (formerly SsangYong Motor), 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.

Hyundai Motor Group

Genesis
Hyundai
Kia

Independent

KG Mobility (KGM)

Vietnam

This list wouldn’t be complete without Vietnam’s first and only large-scale auto manufacturer: VinFast. Founded in 2017, the EV maker put down roots in Europe in 2018 and in the US in 2022.