cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/39361822

European Car Brands and Their Origins

1. Germany

  • Volkswagen Group (Headquarters: Wolfsburg)

    • Brands: VW, Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Seat, Cupra, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ducati (motorcycles)
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Porsche SE (Germany, Porsche/Piëch family): ~53.3% of voting rights
      • State of Lower Saxony (Germany): ~20%
      • Qatar (Qatar Holding): ~17%

  • Mercedes-Benz Group (Headquarters: Stuttgart)

    • Brands: Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Maybach
    • Major Shareholders:
      • BAIC (China, state-owned automaker): ~10%
      • Geely (China, Li Shufu): ~9.7%
      • Kuwait Investment Authority (Kuwait, sovereign wealth fund): ~6.8%

  • BMW Group (Headquarters: Munich)

    • Brands: BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Quandt family (Germany): ~46.8%
      • Institutional investors (mostly from Europe and the US)

  • Stellantis (partially German) (Headquarters: Netherlands)

    • Brands: Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Opel, Vauxhall, Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, RAM, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Exor (Agnelli family, Italy): ~14.4%
      • French government (Bpifrance, through PSA acquisition): ~6%
      • Peugeot family (France): ~7%
      • Dongfeng (China, former PSA partner): ~4%

2. USA

  • General Motors (GM) (Headquarters: Detroit)

    • Brands: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Buick
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Institutional investors (USA, e.g., BlackRock, Vanguard, Capital Group)

  • Ford Motor Company (Headquarters: Dearborn)

    • Brands: Ford, Lincoln
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Ford family (USA, holds special shares with voting control)
      • Institutional investors (BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, mostly USA-based)

  • Tesla (Headquarters: Palo Alto, California)

    • Brands: Tesla
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Elon Musk (South Africa/USA): ~13%
      • Institutional investors (BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, mostly USA-based)

3. Japan

  • Toyota Motor Corporation (Headquarters: Toyota City)

    • Brands: Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu, Hino (commercial vehicles)
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Japanese banks & insurance companies (Toyota itself, Nippon Life, Sumitomo Mitsui, JP Morgan Japan)

  • Honda Motor Co. (Headquarters: Tokyo)

    • Brands: Honda, Acura
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Institutional investors (Japan, Nippon Life, BlackRock Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust)

  • Nissan Motor Co. (Headquarters: Yokohama)

    • Brands: Nissan, Infiniti, Datsun (discontinued)
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Renault (France): ~15%
      • Japanese investors (state-owned and private companies, e.g., Japan Trustee Services Bank)

  • Mazda (Headquarters: Hiroshima)

    • Major Shareholders:
      • Toyota (Japan, around 5%)
      • Japanese banks and institutional investors

  • Subaru Corporation (Headquarters: Tokyo)

    • Major Shareholders:
      • Toyota (Japan, around 20%)

4. France

  • Renault Group (Headquarters: Boulogne-Billancourt)
    • Brands: Renault, Dacia, Alpine, Mobilize
    • Major Shareholders:
      • French government: ~15%
      • Nissan (Japan): ~15%
      • Institutional investors (mainly from France and Europe)

5. Italy

  • Ferrari (Headquarters: Maranello)

    • Major Shareholders:
      • Exor (Agnelli family, Italy): ~24%
      • Institutional investors (Europe & USA, e.g., BlackRock, Vanguard)

  • Lamborghini (Part of Volkswagen, Audi subsidiary)

6. South Korea

  • Hyundai Motor Group (Headquarters: Seoul)
    • Brands: Hyundai, Kia, Genesis
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Chung family (South Korea, Hyundai founders)
      • Korean banks & sovereign funds

7. China

  • Geely (Headquarters: Hangzhou)

    • Brands: Geely, Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Zeekr, Lynk & Co
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Li Shufu (China, company founder): Majority owner
      • Chinese sovereign funds & banks

  • BYD (Headquarters: Shenzhen)

    • Major Shareholders:
      • Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway, USA): ~8%
      • Chinese institutional investors & banks

  • Nio, XPeng, Li Auto

    • Major Shareholders:
      • Private and state-owned Chinese investors

8. India

  • Tata Motors (Headquarters: Mumbai)
    • Brands: Tata, Jaguar, Land Rover
    • Major Shareholders:
      • Tata Sons (India, majority owner)

—

Summary by Ownership Structure

  • Strong State Influence: Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis
  • Family-Controlled: BMW (Quandt), Volkswagen (Porsche/Piëch), Stellantis (Agnelli/Peugeot), Hyundai (Chung), Ferrari (Agnelli)
  • Institutional Investor Dominance: GM, Ford, Tesla, Toyota, Honda
  • Chinese-Controlled: Geely, BYD

—

  • Saleh@feddit.orgEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Note for the German brands that are “Family-Controlled” that these families gained most of their wealth and power during the Third Reich, abusing Jewish slave work and selling arms to the Wehrmacht. They managed to keep it in the post war times thanks to the “Denazification” being mostly just on paper and the Western allies looking to quickly rebuild a Western German industry, to prevent Sovjet influence.

    BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen are the O.G. Swasticars.

    • a887dcd7a@feddit.orgOPMEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      Agreed, but you have to acknowledge that this happened a long time ago. It is good to remember the lineage and call that out, but I’m more worried (for example) about VWs current stance e.g. on Chinese slave labor or the general attitude towards EVs.

  • superkret@feddit.orgEnglish
    13·
    2 days ago

    Jaguar and Land Rover are now Indian.
    Bentley, Mini and Rolls-Royce are German.

    This must make some Brits really mad!

  • Dr. Bob@lemmy.caEnglish
    5·
    2 days ago

    This is part of the story. What is more important is where they are built. Toyotas for instance can have engines built in the U.S., transmissions built in Mexico, with the parts assembled in Canada, or it can be completely built in Japan and come in as an import. The details matter in these shitty tariff driven times.

  • Kualdir@feddit.nlEnglish
    11·
    2 days ago

    Its actually insane how big the VW group is. Currently have a Toyota Yaris Active (company car) and its quite a good car. Looking to get a VW as a next company car but nothing is beating the lease price I got for this Yaris as of yet.

    • boonhet@lemm.eeEnglish
      11·
      2 days ago

      If price is your chief concern, you can look right away from VW. Not even Škoda is cheap anymore.

      You might want to look at something like a Dacia maybe?

        • boonhet@lemm.eeEnglish
          1·
          2 days ago

          Note: Ignore my entire rant below. The E-up has been replaced by the id.1 in its lineup. We don’t know pricing yet because it’s planned for 2027. The cheapest VW you can buy is still around 23 grand, but it’s a crappy crossover thingy with a dinky petrol engine.

          23 fucking grand for a car with no cargo space, no crumple zones and not all that much interior space. It’s meant to be driven only in cities - which are the one place where cars are inferior to other modes of transport. The batteries really do make small cars a lot more expensive, because a similarly sized and powered hatchback would’ve been like 11k from Toyota, which is also a bit more expensive than competitors, a decade ago, just with a petrol engine.

          Hell even today, with car prices being what they are, Dacia will sell you a Sandero for under 15 grand. New. THAT is cheap for 2025. 23 grand for a supermini is not.