Car Companies, who owns who ?

[bultaco]

Cars. Who owns who ?

So, you're buying an English car huh? That fancy Jaguar with its birds eye maple... so much nicer than any American car. In fact, no American company can compete with its elegance you say. Well, hold on to your bowler because, as nice as the Jaguar is, it's now a Ford.

The automotive world is a complicated place now and with consolidation hitting everyone it's no surprise that car companies are gobbling up each other faster than ever before.

Now, just because Volvo sold their car division to Ford it doesn't mean you can get a Mustang engine in a S60 sedan. Nor does it mean you can get Ford Focus with an Aston Martin engine. But it does mean these companies with bigger parents have a better chance of surviving long-term because of better financial stability. In fact there's a good chance SAAB wouldn't be making new designs if it weren't for GM and I don't think Volvo would have had the money for their latest 'R' line of cars if Ford hadn't stepped in.

But in soap opera fashion sometimes these companies sell their divisions so quickly that the new parent doesn't even have time to make their own changes. What do we mean? The latest Range Rover (from Land Rover which is owned by Ford) comes with a wonderful BMW engine under the hood. Why? Because BMW bought the Rover group some years ago and sold the Land Rover lineup to Ford. To put it plainly, you'd be buying an English SUV with a German engine from an American company.

BMW owns:
-BMW
-Mini
-Rolls Royce

Chrysler owns:
-AMC (brand discontinued -- Chrysler bought AMC primarily for the Jeep brand which was owned by AMC)
-Chrysler
-Dodge
-Eagle (brand discontinued)
-Jeep
-Plymouth (brand discontinued)

Daimler/Chrysler owns:
-Chrysler (small percentage)
-Maybach
-Mercedes-Benz
-Smart

Fiat owns:
-Alfa Romeo
-Ferrari
-Fiat
-Lancia
-Maserati

Ford owns:
-Aston Martin (SALE PENDING)
-Ford
-Jaguar
-Land Rover (bought from BMW)
-Lincoln
-Mazda (Ford owns 33% of Mazda)
-Mercury
-Volvo cars

Fuji Heavy Industries owns:
-Subaru

General Motors owns:
-Buick
-Cadillac
-Chevrolet
-Daewoo (GM owns 44%)
-Fiat (GM has decided to divorce itself from Fiat as of Feb '05, but will retain 10% ownership.)
-GMC
-Holden
-Hummer
-Oldsmobile (brand discontinued)
-Opel
-Pontiac
-Saab
-Saturn
-Suzuki (2.5%, from 20%)
-Vauxhall

Honda owns:
-Acura
-Honda

Hyundai owns:
-Hyundai
-Kia

Isuzu owns:
-Isuzu
(Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank owns part of Isuzu.)

Mitsubishi Corp. owns:
-Isuzu (13.6%)
-Mitsubishi Motors Corp (13%)

Nissan owns:
-Infiniti
-Nissan
-Renault (Nissan owns 15%)

PSA Peugeot Citroen owns:
-Citroen
-Peugeot

Porsche owns:
-Porsche
-VW (~31%)

Renault owns:
-Nissan (Renault owns 44%)

Toyota owns:
-Daihatsu (~51%)
-Fuji Heavy Industries -- Subaru (Toyota owns ~20%. Toyota bought this from GM in late 2005. )
-Isuzu (5.9%, announced 7 Nov. 2006)
-Lexus
-Scion
-Toyota

Volkswagen owns:
-Audi
-Bentley
-Bugatti
-Lamborghini
-SEAT
-Skoda
-Volkswagen

The automotive world is constantly changing so this article is will updated as needed.

Last update: 29 Nov 2007
Latest changes were: Chrysler & Daimler parted ways.