The car industry is very convoluted these days, with continued change around the world. The poor economy has resulted in widespread cost reductions and new partnerships in auto ownerships.
To help clarify the confusion, here is a list of which auto companies owns which brands. Despite the changes, the one consistent factor is that all consumers are still fully protected from defective autos through the state lemon law.
BMW owns: BMW, Mini, and Rolls Royce
Fiat owns: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati; Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep–20-percent stake
Ford Motor Company owns: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo (for now), and still owns 13.4 percent of Mazda
General Motors owns: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC. Also owns a controlling interest in Daewoo, as well as Opel and Vauxhall in Europe and Holden in Australia. (Pontiac to be discontinued)
Honda owns: Honda, Acura
Hyundai owns: Hyundai, Kia
Tata Motors (India) owns: Jaguar and Land Rover
Mazda (partially owned by Ford)
Mitsubishi
Daimler AG owns: Mercedes-Benz and Smart
Nissan owns: Nissan and Infiniti (Nissan is owned by Renault–France)
Porsche owns: Porsche and a majority share in Volkswagen
Subaru (A controlling interest of Subaru is owned by Toyota)
Suzuki
Toyota Motor Company owns: Lexus, Toyota, Scion, Daihatsu and Hino Motors, with a stake in Fuji Industries (Subaru’s parent company) and Isuzu
Volkswagen owns: Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and overseas SEAT and Skoda.
In formal negotiations to be sold:
Hummer: Tengzhong (China)
Saturn: Penske Automotive Group
Saab: Koenigsegg (Sweden)
Thank you David, this article is very helpful and brings up a good point. It is a shame to see many good brands tarnish their reputation due to cost cutting in a bad economy. I bought a 2007 BMW 335i, and loved the car at first. Since, I have had nothing but recurrent manufacturer defects, especially regarding my HPFP. BMW has been giving me the professional run around since 2009 instead of just replacing the part. I created a website with the sole purpose of bringing to light a few of BMW’s defective products, and to STOP their unethical business practices with our fact based comments. If BMW stood behind their brand, the website below wouldn’t exist.
mydefectivebmw.com