Manufacturers

Abarth is an Italian performance-car brand founded in 1949 by Carlo Abarth and Guido Scagliarini. Its first car, the Fiat 1100-based 204 A Roadster, established the company’s competition focus, while exhaust systems and tuning kits made the scorpion badge...

Acura is Honda’s premium automobile brand, developed for the North American market and launched in the United States on March 27, 1986. Its first vehicles were the Legend luxury sedan and the smaller, sport-oriented Integra, establishing a mix of refineme...

Alfa Romeo began in Milan on June 24, 1910, as A.L.F.A. (Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili); after industrialist Nicola Romeo took control, the Alfa Romeo name emerged in 1918. The marque developed around sporting road cars and competition machinery, ran...

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle brand founded in 1945 by Alberto Beggio in Noale, near Venice, initially as a bicycle maker. Ivano Beggio steered it into powered two-wheelers in 1968, and the Scarabeo motocross model helped establish the name during the 19...

Arctic Cat is an American powersports brand formed by snowmobile pioneer Edgar Hetteen in 1962 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Growing from Minnesota’s early snowmobile industry, it became known primarily for recreational, racing, mountain and utility sn...

Founded in London in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin began with competition-minded sports cars; its first prototype, later called Coal Scuttle, was completed in 1914. Under industrialist David Brown, who acquired the company in 1947, ...

Audi is a German automobile brand whose origins date to 1909, when engineer August Horch established a new car company in Zwickau after leaving the Horch firm. Unable to reuse his surname, he adopted Audi, a Latin rendering of the German word “Horch,” m...

Bentley is a British luxury and performance-car brand founded by engineer Walter Owen Bentley in London in 1919. Early models such as the 3 Litre, 4½ Litre “Blower” and Speed Six established its reputation for durable, high-speed grand touring and comp...

BMW—short for Bayerische Motoren Werke—traces its official founding date to March 7, 1916, through Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and the aviation-related businesses of Gustav Otto and Karl Rapp. The company entered motorcycle production with the shaft-driven...

Buell is an American motorcycle brand founded in Wisconsin in 1983 by engineer and racer Erik Buell. Its first machine, the RW750, was created for AMA Formula One road racing, and the company later became known for unconventional performance motorcycles pow...

Bugatti is a French automobile marque founded by Ettore Bugatti in Molsheim in 1909. Its early reputation grew from lightweight, technically distinctive road and racing cars, especially the Type 13 and the race-winning Type 35. The marque also produced impo...

Buick is an American automotive brand whose roots trace to inventor David Dunbar Buick’s engine business in Detroit. The Buick Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 and soon moved to Flint, Michigan, where William C. Durant transformed it into a major au...

Cadillac is an American luxury-vehicle brand founded in Detroit in 1902 by precision manufacturer Henry M. Leland. Its name honors Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the French explorer who founded Detroit. General Motors acquired Cadillac in 1909. Early achieve...

Can-Am is a Canadian powersports brand introduced by Bombardier in 1973 with motorcycles developed for motocross and endurance competition. Early racing success established the name among off-road motorcycle enthusiasts. Over subsequent decades, Can-Am beca...

CFMoto traces its origins to a motorcycle-parts workshop established by a father and son in Wenzhou, China, in 1989. The business developed its first liquid-cooled engine in 1997 and released its first complete two-wheeler the following year. It later expan...

Chevrolet was founded in Detroit in 1911 by racing driver and engineer Louis Chevrolet and automobile entrepreneur William C. Durant. Named for Louis Chevrolet, the company became part of General Motors in 1918 and developed into GM’s broad-market vehicle...

Chrysler is an American automobile brand rooted in Walter P. Chrysler’s reorganization of Maxwell Motor Company as Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Its first namesake car, the 1924 Chrysler Six, emphasized advanced engineering and helped establish the compan...

Citroën is a French automobile brand established by industrialist André Citroën in 1919, when the Type A began the marque’s automotive story. It became known for combining mass-market vehicles with unconventional engineering, distinctive styling, and a...

Daewoo was a South Korean automobile marque introduced in 1983 after the Daewoo Group took control of Saehan Motor, whose lineage included earlier partnerships with General Motors. The brand initially became known for affordable passenger cars derived from ...

Dodge traces its origins to John and Horace Dodge, who established the Dodge Brothers Company in Michigan in 1900 and initially supplied parts to other automakers. The brothers introduced their first automobile in 1914, and Chrysler Corporation acquired the...

Ducati began in Bologna in 1926 as Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati, a producer of radio and electrical components founded by the Ducati family. Its entry into motorcycling followed World War II: production of the Cucciolo auxiliary engine began a...

Ferrari is an Italian sports-car marque founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1947, when the 125 S became the first car to bear his name and emerged from the Maranello factory. Its roots reach back to Scuderia Ferrari, the racing organization Enzo established in Moden...

Fiat was established in Turin on July 11, 1899, as the Società Anonima Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili—Torino. The company grew into a central force in Italy’s motor industry and became especially associated with practical, affordable passenger cars. I...

Ford is an American automotive brand whose history begins with the incorporation of Ford Motor Company in Detroit in 1903. Its early Model T, introduced in 1908, helped make automobile ownership accessible to a broad market, while Ford’s adoption of the i...

Genesis is a South Korean luxury automobile brand established by Hyundai Motor Company in November 2015. Its name came from Hyundai’s Genesis premium sedan, introduced in 2008; that model evolved into the G80 after Genesis became a separate marque. The br...

GMC is an American General Motors vehicle brand whose roots lie in the early commercial-truck industry. General Motors organized the General Motors Truck Company in 1911 after acquiring truck makers including Rapid and Reliance, and the GMC name began appea...

Harley-Davidson began in Milwaukee in 1903, when William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson developed and sold an early motorcycle; Walter and William A. Davidson soon joined the enterprise. The company grew from a small workshop into a major American motorcycle...

Honda is a Japanese vehicle and engine brand rooted in Soichiro Honda’s Honda Technical Research Institute, established in Hamamatsu in 1946; Honda Motor Co., Ltd. followed in 1948. The company began with auxiliary bicycle engines and motorcycles, introdu...

Hummer is an American off-road vehicle name that began in 1992, when AM General introduced a civilian version of the military HMMWV, commonly called the Humvee. That vehicle was later named the H1 and retained much of the military truck’s distinctive prop...

Hyundai is a South Korean automotive brand produced by Hyundai Motor Company, which was incorporated in 1967. The company began assembling Ford Cortinas at its Ulsan plant in 1968 before developing the Pony, unveiled in 1974 and released in 1975 as Korea’...

Indian Motorcycle traces its origins to Springfield, Massachusetts, where George M. Hendee and Oscar Hedstrom opened the Hendee Manufacturing Company’s first motorcycle factory in 1901. The business became the Indian Motocycle Company in 1923. Indian help...

Infiniti is Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.’s Japanese premium automobile brand. Its origins trace to a Nissan team formed in 1985 to create a performance-luxury marque for the United States. Infiniti launched on November 8, 1989, through 51 American dealers with ...

Isuzu traces its automotive origins to 1916, when two predecessor firms began plans to build vehicles in Japan. The Isuzu name, taken from the Isuzu River near Ise Grand Shrine, was first applied to a government-standard truck in 1934; Tokyo Automobile Indu...

Jaguar is a British automobile marque whose roots reach to the Swallow Sidecar Company, founded by William Lyons and William Walmsley in 1922. The Jaguar name first appeared on an SS saloon in 1935, and SS Cars adopted Jaguar Cars as its company name in 194...

Jeep is an American vehicle brand whose history begins with the Willys-Overland military 4x4 produced in 1941 for World War II service. After the war, the CJ-2A brought the basic concept to civilian buyers, while the Willys Station Wagon and later Wagoneer ...

Kawasaki’s powersports roots trace to Kawasaki Aircraft, which applied its engineering experience to motorcycle engines beginning in 1953. Integrated motorcycle production followed in 1960, and the B7 became the first motorcycle sold under the Kawasaki br...

Kia traces its roots to Kyungsung Precision Industry, founded by Kim Cheol-ho in 1944 to manufacture bicycle parts in Korea. Renamed Kia Industries in 1952, the company produced Korea’s first domestically made bicycle before expanding into motorcycles, th...

Koenigsegg is a Swedish manufacturer of low-volume, high-performance sports cars founded by Christian von Koenigsegg in 1994. The company developed its CC concept during the 1990s and introduced the CC8S as its first production model in 2002. Successive car...

KTM traces its roots to 1934, when Hans Trunkenpolz opened a metalworking shop in Mattighofen, Upper Austria. The business developed its first motorcycle in 1951 and placed the R 100 into series production in 1953, when the KTM name represented Kronreif, Tr...

Lamborghini is an Italian super-sports-car marque founded by industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini in Sant’Agata Bolognese in 1963. Its first production automobile, the front-engine 350 GT, arrived in 1964, while the mid-engine Miura of 1966 helped establis...

Land Rover originated in Britain with the Series I, conceived by brothers Maurice and Spencer Wilks and introduced at the Amsterdam Motor Show in 1948. Initially designed as a practical four-wheel-drive utility vehicle, it developed through the Series II an...

Lexus is Toyota Motor Corporation’s luxury vehicle brand, developed in Japan and launched in the United States on September 1, 1989, after a six-year development program. It debuted with the LS 400 flagship sedan and ES 250, giving Toyota a separate ident...

Lincoln is an American luxury-vehicle brand founded in 1917 by engineer Henry M. Leland and his son Wilfred. Named for President Abraham Lincoln, the company initially built Liberty aircraft engines during World War I, then entered automobile production wit...

Lotus traces its origins to 1948, when British engineer Colin Chapman built an Austin Seven-based competition car while studying in London; he formed Lotus Engineering Company in 1952. The marque became closely associated with lightweight construction, resp...

Lucid is an American electric-vehicle brand established in California in 2016, building on Atieva, a battery and powertrain company incorporated in 2007. Atieva shifted toward developing complete high-performance electric cars in 2014, and the Lucid name ar...

Maserati is an Italian automobile brand founded in Bologna in 1914 by Alfieri Maserati with his brothers Ettore and Ernesto. Its first car to carry the Trident badge, the Tipo 26, debuted in 1926 and won its class at the Targa Florio. Maserati moved to Mode...

Maybach is a German luxury-automobile marque whose automotive story began in 1921, when Maybach-Motorenbau presented the W 3 at the Berlin Motor Show; series production followed in Friedrichshafen in 1922. The company had originated in 1909 as an aircraft-e...

Mazda traces its roots to Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., founded in Hiroshima in 1920. After shifting from cork products to machinery, the company introduced the Mazda-Go three-wheeled truck in 1931 and entered passenger-car production with the R360 Coupe in 19...

McLaren is a British performance-car marque rooted in the racing team Bruce McLaren formed in England in 1963. The operation built its own competition cars and became closely associated with Formula One, Can-Am, Indianapolis and endurance racing. Bruce also...

Mercedes-Benz is a German vehicle brand created in 1926 when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. merged to form Daimler-Benz, joining the Mercedes name and three-pointed star with the Benz name and laurel wreath. Its heritage reaches back to Carl B...

Mercury was established by Ford Motor Company in 1938 under Edsel Ford to occupy the market between mainstream Ford vehicles and luxury Lincoln automobiles. Its first model, the 1939 Mercury 8, paired a V-8 engine with distinctive styling and set the patter...

MG originated at Morris Garages in Oxford, where manager Cecil Kimber developed sportier cars based on Morris mechanical components. The marque was formally established in 1924 and soon became closely associated with lightweight, accessible sports cars. Ear...

MINI is a British automobile brand whose roots date to 1959, when British Motor Corporation introduced Alec Issigonis’s transverse-engined, front-wheel-drive small car as the Morris Mini-Minor and Austin Seven. Its space-efficient packaging, wheels-at-the...

Mitsubishi’s automotive history began in Japan in 1917, when Mitsubishi Shipbuilding produced the Model A, regarded by the company as Japan’s first series-produced passenger car. Vehicle operations later became part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and M...

Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle brand established in 1921 by Carlo Guzzi, Giorgio Parodi and Emanuele Vittorio Parodi. Although the company was formally founded in Genoa, its identity and manufacturing history are centered on Mandello del Lario, where i...

Nissan is a Japanese automotive brand whose roots include the 1911 Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works and its DAT automobile. The present company was established in Yokohama as Jidosha Seizo Co., Ltd. in December 1933 and adopted the Nissan Motor name in 1934; “...

Oldsmobile was an American automobile marque founded by Ransom E. Olds in Lansing, Michigan, in 1897 as the Olds Motor Vehicle Company. It joined General Motors in 1908 and operated as GM’s Oldsmobile division until the brand was phased out in 2004. The e...

Opel traces its roots to Adam Opel’s workshop in Rüsselsheim, Germany, founded in 1862 to manufacture sewing machines. The company added bicycles in 1886 and began producing automobiles in 1899. Opel became known for accessible passenger cars and light c...

Pagani is an Italian hypercar marque founded in 1998 by Argentine-born designer and engineer Horacio Pagani. Before establishing the automaker, Pagani worked at Lamborghini and formed Modena Design in 1991 to develop advanced composite-material technologies...

Peugeot traces its origins to 1810, when Jean-Frédéric and Jean-Pierre II Peugeot converted the family mill at Hérimoncourt into a steelworks. The company produced tools and household goods before expanding into bicycles in 1886. Armand Peugeot presented...

Plymouth was an American automobile marque created by Chrysler Corporation in 1928 as its entry in the low-priced market, competing with Ford and Chevrolet. Over seven decades, it sold mainstream passenger cars, station wagons, vans, minivans, and selected ...

Polaris is an American powersports brand founded in 1954 by Edgar Hetteen, Allan Hetteen, and David Johnson in Roseau, Minnesota. An early Polaris snowmobile followed in 1955, establishing the company in winter transportation and recreation. Textron acquire...

Polestar is a Swedish electric-performance car brand founded in 2017 by Volvo Cars and Zhejiang Geely Holding. Its name and performance identity grew from Swedish touring-car racing: the team now known as Cyan Racing introduced the Polestar name in 2005, be...

Pontiac was introduced by General Motors for the 1926 model year as a lower-priced companion to GM's Oakland marque. Its sales soon surpassed Oakland's, and Pontiac became a full GM division after Oakland was discontinued following the 1931 model year. Pont...

Porsche traces its corporate roots to the engineering office Ferdinand Porsche established in Stuttgart in 1931. The automotive brand began in 1948, when the Porsche 356 “No. 1” Roadster became the first sports car to carry the family name, with Ferdina...

Ram is an American truck and commercial-vehicle brand that became a stand-alone division of Chrysler Group in October 2009, separating the former Dodge Ram truck line from Dodge’s car-focused identity. Its heritage reaches back through Dodge commercial ve...

Renault traces its roots to 1898, when Louis Renault completed his Type A voiturette; he and his brothers Marcel and Fernand soon formed Renault-Frères. The French marque grew into a major producer of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. Postwar m...

Founded in 2009 by engineer RJ Scaringe, Rivian is an American electric-vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Irvine, California. The company built its identity around battery-electric vehicles intended for both everyday transportation and outdoor use. Rivi...

Rolls-Royce traces its automotive origins to 1904, when engineer Henry Royce and motor dealer Charles Rolls agreed to produce and sell cars under their combined names. The British marque became associated with large luxury automobiles, mechanical refinement...

Rover grew from a late-19th-century Coventry cycle business associated with John Kemp Starley, whose safety bicycle helped establish the Rover name. After producing motorcycles, the company introduced its first production car in 1904. Rover became known for...

Royal Enfield originated in Redditch, England, where the Enfield Cycle Company produced its first motorcycle in 1901. The marque grew from bicycle and precision-engineering roots and supplied motorcycles for military use in both world wars, including the li...

Saab’s automotive history began in 1945, when Swedish aircraft manufacturer Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget started Project 92 to develop a small passenger car. The streamlined Saab 92 was presented in 1947, with series production beginning in Trollhättan ...

Saturn was an American automobile marque created by General Motors as a new approach to designing, manufacturing, and selling compact cars. Saturn Corporation was established in 1985, and the first production car left its dedicated Spring Hill, Tennessee, p...

Scion was established in 2003 by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., as an experimental marque aimed at attracting younger North American buyers. Its first production models, the xA hatchback and box-shaped xB, emphasized compact dimensions, straightforward pricing...

Segway Powersports is a Chinese off-road vehicle brand operated by Segway Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Segway-Ninebot Group. The powersports company was established in 2018, several years after Ninebot and the original American Segway business comb...

smart is a German automotive brand created through a collaboration formalized in 1994, when Daimler-Benz and Swiss watchmaker Swatch established Micro Compact Car AG in Switzerland. Its first production model debuted as the smart city-coupé in 1997 and rea...

Subaru is a Japanese automotive brand produced by Subaru Corporation, formerly Fuji Heavy Industries. Its history draws on the aircraft-engineering heritage of Nakajima Aircraft and the formation of Fuji Heavy Industries in 1953. The Subaru 360, introduced ...

Suzuki traces its origins to Michio Suzuki’s Suzuki Loom Works, founded in Hamamatsu in 1909 and incorporated as Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. in 1920. The company entered motorized transportation with the Power Free auxiliary bicycle engine in 1952, foll...

Tesla is an American electric-vehicle brand established in 2003 as Tesla Motors. Its first production car, the Roadster, entered regular production in 2008 and used sports-car performance to demonstrate the potential of lithium-ion battery power. The Model ...

Toyota originated with the automotive division established at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1933 under Kiichiro Toyoda. Early vehicles included the Toyoda Model G1 truck and Model AA passenger car, and Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. was established in 1937. The Ja...

Triumph traces its roots to a bicycle business established by Siegfried Bettmann in Coventry in 1887; its first motorized cycle, later known as No. 1, appeared in 1902. The marque became closely associated with British parallel-twin motorcycles, racing, lan...

Victory was an American motorcycle brand created by Polaris Industries and debuted in 1997. Its first production motorcycle, the V92C, reached the market in 1998 and established the brand’s focus on large-displacement V-twin machines. Victory became known...

VinFast is a Vietnamese vehicle brand established by Vingroup in 2017, when construction began on its manufacturing complex in Hai Phong. It entered the market quickly: the Klara electric scooter appeared in 2018, while the Lux A2.0 sedan and Lux SA2.0 SUV ...

Volkswagen originated in Germany in 1937, when the Nazi-era German Labour Front established a company to develop a mass-market “people’s car.” Its Wolfsburg plant was drawn into armaments production during World War II and used forced labor. Under Bri...

Volvo began in Gothenburg, Sweden, where founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson developed a car suited to demanding Swedish conditions. The first production Volvo, the open-top ÖV4, left the factory on April 14, 1927. The marque became closely associ...

Yamaha’s powersports business began within Japanese musical-instrument maker Nippon Gakki, whose motorcycle division produced the 125 cc YA-1 in 1955. The division was spun off that July as the independent Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Early competition success ...