Who Owns Which Car Brands?

The auto industry has a very confusing family tree. The past decade has seen partnerships, sales, separations, bankruptcies, and entire divisions killed off, making it difficult to keep up with who owns which car brands.

As automakers have slimmed down to become more profitable and efficient, we have seen storied names, such as Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac, fade into the history books. We have seen others, such as Chrysler, Jaguar, and Volvo, find new corporate parents, outside their original country. And new companies have risen, such as Rivian and Tesla.

Guide to Car Brands

Here we list each major car brand and its parent corporation, including some retired brands whose products are still readily available as used cars.

• Brand: Parent Company Acura: Honda Motor Company
• Alfa Romeo: Stellantis
• Audi: Volkswagen Group
• BMW: BMW Group
• Bentley: Volkswagen Group
• Buick: General Motors
• Cadillac: General Motors
• Chevrolet: General Motors
• Chrysler: Stellantis
• Dodge: Stellantis
• Fiat: Stellantis
• Ford: Ford Motor Co.
• GMC: General Motors
• Genesis: Hyundai Motor Group
• Honda: Honda Motor Co.
• Hyundai: Hyundai Motor Group
• Infiniti: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance
• Jaguar: Tata Motors
• Jeep: Stellantis
• Kia: Hyundai Motor Group
• Land Rover: Tata Motors
• Lexus: Toyota Motor Corp.
• Lincoln: Ford Motor Co.
• Lotus: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
• Lucid: Lucid Motors
• Maserati: Stellantis
• Mazda: Mazda Motor Corp.
• Mercedes-Benz: Daimler AG
• Mercury*: Ford Motor Co.
• Mini: BMW Group
• Mitsubishi: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance
• Nissan: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance
• Polestar: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group
• Pontiac*: General Motors
• Porsche: Volkswagen Group
• Ram: Stellantis
• Rivian: Rivian Automotive, with investments from Amazon and Ford, among others.
• Rolls-Royce: BMW Group
• Saab*: brand owned by Saab AB; assets owned by National Electric Vehicle Sweden
• Saturn*: General Motors
• Scion*: Toyota Motor Corp.
• Smart: Daimler AG
• Subaru: Subaru Corp.
• Suzuki*: Suzuki Motor Corp. Owns a small stake in Toyota.
• Tesla: Tesla Inc.
• Toyota: Toyota Motor Corp.
• Volkswagen: Volkswagen AG.
• Volvo: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group

*Retired brand, but many are still sold as used cars.

Guide to Car Corporations

Here’s a list the major car corporations that sell in the U.S. and the brands they currently offer here.

Parent Company owns Brand

BMW Group owns BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce.
Daimler AG owns Mercedes-Benz and Smart.
Ford Motor Co. owns Ford and Lincoln.
General Motors owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. Hummer has returned as a GMC sub-brand.
Honda Motor Co. owns Acura and Honda.
Hyundai Motor Group owns Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia.
Mazda Motor Corp. owns Mazda.
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance owns Infiniti, Mitsubishi, and Nissan.
Stellantis is the new corporation formed from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A. merger. The name is explained as being rooted in the Latin verb “stello” meaning “to brighten with stars.” The FCA brands sold in the U.S. are now under Stellantis: Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram. Overseas, Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall are among the other Stellantis car brands.
Subaru Corp. owns Subaru.
Tata Motors owns Jaguar and Land Rover.
Tesla owns Tesla.
Toyota Motor Corp. owns Lexus and Toyota. And it has a stake in Subaru and Suzuki.
Volkswagen AG owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, and Volkswagen.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH) owns Lotus, Polestar, and Volvo.