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RENAULT-NISSAN

Car Manufacturers: Who Owns What?

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This Buick Regal TourX was developed by Opel. Opel, once owned by GM,
is now a subsidiary of France’s PSA Groupe.

The global auto industry consists of dozens of brand names, but not all are marketed throughout the world. Opel is popular in Europe, but it is not sold in North America. Suzuki cars are no longer sold in the United States, but its Maruti Suzuki brand is a top seller in India. Industry consolidation has united or forged alliances for several car manufacturers and brands, including some owned by rival automakers.

General Motors Company

This Detroit, Mich., company has been around for more than 100 years. For decades, it was the world’s largest manufacturer of passenger vehicles since surpassed by Volkswagen and Toyota. GM’s four core North American brands are Cadillac, Buick, GMC, and Chevrolet. The company used to operate Saturn, Oldsmobile, Saab, Hummer, and Pontiac. Its other subsidiaries include Holden and GM Korea (formerly Daewoo), a joint venture with SAIC Motor, a Chinese company, and partnerships with other Chinese concerns. GM used to own Vauxhall and Opel but sold these two European brands to Groupe PSA in 2017.

Volkswagen Group

Based in Stuttgart, Germany, Volkswagen owns or has a stake in 12 brands including its eponymous Volkswagen moniker. It also owns Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti, Skoda, and SEAT. It previously had a stake in Suzuki and joint ventures with two Chinese automakers. Volkswagen also owns Ducati, a motorcycle manufacturer, and MAN, a commercial vehicle brand.

The Plymouth brand is gone, but this 1964 Belvedere reminds us of what once was.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles represents the merger of two well-established automotive manufacturers. Its North American brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Mopar. In the US, it also manages the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands. Chrysler previously owned several other brands, including Plymouth, Imperial, Eagle, and DeSoto. Other FCA properties include Ferrari and Maserati. The automaker has partnerships or stakes in companies based in China, Turkey, and India.

Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota and Lexus are the two North American brands managed by the Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese business. From 2003 to 2016, Toyota also operated the Scion brand. The company is one of the largest conglomerates in the world, an entity with stakes or affiliate agreements with hundreds of companies. Toyota has a controlling interest or a stake in several automotive brands including Daihatsu, Hino Motors, Noble Automotive, Subaru, and Isuzu.

BMW AG

The Germany-based BMW AG entity is best known for producing BMW brand vehicles. It also owns Mini, a British brand it obtained in 1994. In 1998, BMW acquired Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, another British marque. The company also produces motorcycles under the BMW name.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

Formerly known as the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the current set up now includes Mitsubishi. Originally established in 1999 whereby Renault and Nissan have investments in each other, Mitsubishi joined in 2017 when Nissan took a stake in it. Today the alliance is a strategic partnership that enables these companies to partner for vehicle development. Besides the three monikers, there are other brands associated with the alliance: Alpine, Dacia, Datsun, Infiniti, Lada, Renault Samsung Motors, and Venucia. The alliance also has stakes in or partnerships with Daimler, AvtoVAZ, and China’s Dongfeng Motor.

This Mini Countryman is a British model built by a German manufacturer.

Ford Motor Company

Besides the Ford brand, this Dearborn, Mich., car manufacturer owns Lincoln and previously had Mercury before shutting down the latter in 2011. The company has shares in Mazda and Aston Martin, and previously owned Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo. Other Ford partnerships include with Brazil’s Troller, an SUV manufacturer, China’s Jiangling Motors, and Changan Ford.

Daimler AG

German car manufacturer Daimler’s best-known brand is Mercedes-Benz. The company also produces Smart brand vehicles, Mercedes-AMG performance models, and owns the ultra-luxury Maybach marque. Daimler is heavily invested in commercial vehicles with Freightliner, Mitsubishi Fuso, Thomas Built Buses, and Setra under its control. Daimler also has shares in the Beijing Automotive Group and MV Agusta.

This Infiniti QX30 is the result of a partnership between Nissan and Daimler. The tiny hatchback shares its platform and key components with a Mercedes-Benz model.

Hyundai and Kia

Hyundai and Kia are a pair of South Korean car manufacturers, with both companies comprising the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. That group formed in 1998 when Hyundai gained a controlling interest in Kia. Hyundai’s share now stands at about 33 percent, but the alliance continues. Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis are the three brands associated with this group.

Cooperation and Collaboration

Apart from outright stakes or full partnerships, car manufacturers will often collaborate to build components or explore new technologies. It’s a cost-saving move that can benefit the consumer through shared expenses spread across more vehicle lines. We’ll see more of this in the coming years, especially as the cost of developing autonomous and electric vehicles become too prohibitive for most manufacturers to undertake alone.

See Also — Emerging Alliances Point to Further Auto Industry Consolidation

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Mitsubishi Cancels Galant Replacement Model

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Will FCA come to the rescue?

Pity Mitsubishi. The smallest of the six remaining Japanese car manufacturers has been dealt what may prove to be a fatal blow. Well, at least a blow against its US sales aspirations.

Declining sales for years have hurt Mitsubishi’s position tremendously. However, in 2014, the company reversed course, enjoying a 24.8 percent gain that was augmented by earlier news that it would soon import a midsize sedan from South Korea to pad its thin North American lineup. That model, what was to have been supplied by a Renault-Nissan assembly plant, will not happen after all as reported by Automotive News earlier this week.

Korean Won a Loss for Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Galant

Mitsubishi Galant.

Blame exchange rates for the cancellation as Korea’s won suddenly appreciated against both the US dollar and the Japanese yen, making exporting the prospective model unfeasible. The midsize sedan was to replace the discontinued Galant sedan; a second model to update the aging Lancer had also been discussed and is now shelved.

The proposition appeared to be a win for all parties involved. Mitsubishi would gain one or two models, it couldn’t justify building on its own. The Renault-Nissan alliance would have benefited as underutilized capacity would be put to work.

Of course, the logical arrangement would have had Nissan build the car for Mitsubishi in the US, but the company has no additional manufacturing capacity available. Moreover, those vehicles Nissan produces in the US and doesn’t sell in North America are shipped overseas, ironically to Korea where exchange rates work in its favor.

Seeking Outside Assistance

Mitsubishi isn’t throwing in the towel and will look elsewhere to flesh out its product line. Its sole assembly plant in the US is operating below capacity and would be the natural place to produce a midsize sedan. However, that model wouldn’t be sold outside of North America and volume wouldn’t be practical or profitable enough to justify designing a new vehicle from the ground up.

Two models, the subcompact Mirage and Outlander crossover utility vehicle, helped to propel Mitsubishi’s sales in 2014. Mitsubishi’s Lancer, long-favored by tuners and other small car enthusiasts, was last updated in 2008 and is now in its eighth model year. Meanwhile, the performance Lancer Evolution edition will be cancelled after the 2015 model year. Furthermore, an electric i-MiEV model is available, but its sales impact is inconsequential.

FCA and Mitsubishi

For the short term, Mitsubishi will have to rely on its two key models, while scouring the world for a manufacturing partner. FCA, also known as Fiat Chrysler, might be an alliance possibility. The companies are no strangers either as Mitsubishi long-supplied the old Chrysler Corporation with captive imports such as the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Sapporo for years. Later, Mitsubishi began to sell products under its own name and flourished for a season.

An FCA-Mitsubishi alliance could benefit FCA too. In exchange for supplying Mitsubishi with one or two models, the Japanese partner could provide FCA with improved access to Asia. Just as Renault and Nissan forged an alliance in the 1990s, FCA and Mitsubishi might look for a similar arrangement.