Explaining Car Conglomerates
With all of the different car manufacturer conglomerates out there these days, the answer to, “Who built my car?” isn’t as simple as it used to be.
These days you could easily be looking at a used Ford F150 in OKC and instead of having to go all the way across town or to some other part of Oklahoma to another dealership to check out what GM has to offer, you’ll find that there are also plenty of Buick used cars and Chevy trucks on the same lot.
The auto industry has seen a major overhaul in structure since the recession in 2008. And after federal auto industry bailout many brands saw their ownership change hands. What many once knew to be true has now changed and it can be hard for the average person outside of the auto industry to keep up. To help you out, here’s an updated list of some of today’s most prominent car conglomerates:
BMW: Founded in 1916 as an aircraft engine company, BMW went from that to producing motorcycle, and eventually cars. Today, BMW owns Mini and Rolls-Royce.
FIAT: Not many people know that FIAT is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. It is one of the oldest auto makers in the world and today the company controls Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Lancia, Maserati, and all of the Chrysler’s brands including Dodge, Jeep, and Ram.
Ford: Henry Ford’s Model T revolutionized the auto industry thanks to its introduction of the assembly line. At one point the American car manufacturer held major stakes in Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Mercury, and Aston Martin. But many of these have since been sold and now the company just owns Ford and Lincoln.
General Motors: General Motors, more commonly known as GM, downsized its portfolio after the recession but it still owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Holden, which is a car brand only distributed in Australia.
Honda: Founded in 1948, Honda is relatively new to the auto industry compared to some of its competitors. But it has done well in short time and currently owns the Acura brand.
Hyundai: Hyundai and Kia were once fierce competitors, but Hyundai decided to do something about that and bought ownership of Kia. In 2015, Hyundai announced its new luxury brand called Genesis Motors.
Renault-Nissan: Together, Renault and Nissan own the Infiniti auto brand and the recently revived Datsun. The companies also control stakes in Mitsubishi.
Subaru: Subaru has been setting new annual sales records for more than a decade now and remains an independent company. However, Toyota holds 16-percent stake in the brand.
Toyota: Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Today, Toyota owns Daihatsu, Lexus, and Hino Motors.
Volkswagon: Volkswagon has hit some rough patches in recent years but it remains one of the largest automakers in the world and owns Audi, Bentley, Porsche, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and several other auto brands.
