Automakers in Europe - who belongs to whom?

Automotive manufacturing is a global business. And his statistics are complex and confusing. Factories are generously scattered around the world, companies are bought and sold, alliances and groups are formed, and cooperation is entered into. Therefore, the results depend on the criteria with which to approach them. For example, if Hyundai and KIA are ranked fifth and eighth respectively in the ranking of manufacturers, the Hyundai-KIA concern is already claiming the third place. And South Korea, the birthplace of these firms, is only in fifth place in the list of manufacturing countries.


Or this fact. There is not a single Chinese brand in the top 10 manufacturers (the best, ChangAN, is only in 13th place), but China, as a country, produces cars by a wide margin ranks first in the world – more than 26 million cars versus about 8,5 million in the USA.

Therefore, it becomes more and more difficult to talk about the auto business in terms of nationality or territorial affiliation every year - you can get confused.

But we will try. Let us stipulate in advance – we will only talk about passenger cars, trucks, buses and we will leave out other large-sized equipment.

Today we will talk about European manufacturers. It is also important that the lion's share of production in the Old World falls on primordially European brands. Yes, there are alien Varangians, but mainly in the countries of Eastern Europe and there are not many of them. This is explained quite simply - the cost of labor. In Europe it is high. For the same reason, a significant part of the "European" cars are produced in countries where wage funds do not cause shareholders to cry.

Let's see how the list of the largest and most significant automakers in Europe looks today. But we must understand that this situation is dynamic - companies merge, diverge, form alliances and joint projects, change owners, old ones disappear, new ones arise. So in a few years the picture may be very different.

Volkswagen AG

For many years it remains the largest producer of the Old World. The abbreviated name is VAG. Last year, more than 7,1 million vehicles rolled off its assembly lines around the world. The concern is also one of the leaders in terms of the number of brands included in it.

• ✪Volkswagen
• ✪ Audi
• ✪ Skoda
• ✪ Porsche
• ✪Seat
• ✪ Bentley
• ✪ Bugatti
• ✪ Lamborghini
  

Among other things, the concern includes the design studio ItalDesignGiugiaro and the manufacturer motorcycle Ducati
The future auto giant was founded in 1937 by Ferdinand Porsche. The headquarters is located in Wolfsburg (Germany). To date, the concern includes 48 car assembly plants in 15 European countries, as well as in some countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa.

There are also Volkswagen assembly sites in Russia - in the Kaluga region and Nizhny Novgorod.

Stellantis

In terms of production volumes, the Stellantis alliance formed in 2021 can compete with VAG. Last January, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Group PSA announced their merger.
In terms of the number of "participants" Stellantis bypassed "Volkswagen AG". The alliance includes 10 European and 4 American brands:

• ✪ Peugeot
• ✪ Citroen
• ✪Fiat
• ✪ Opel
• ✪ Lancia
• ✪ Maserati
• ✪DS
• ✪Abarth
• ✪ Alfa Romeo
• ✪ Vauxhall
• ✪Chrysler
• ✪ Ram
• ✪Dodge
• ✪ Jeep
  

The alliance's assembly plants are located in 30 countries around the world, including Russia. In terms of total production, the newly formed group breathes down the back of the head of Volkswagen AG - more than 6,8 million cars in 2020. True, if we exclude American companies from the statistics, the gap will be significant.

RNMA

Another mass "grouping" is the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. We can say thank you that the organizers did not include all the brands included in the name of the group, because there are quite a few of them!

• ✪ Renault
• ✪Nissan
• ✪Mitsubishi
• ✪ Samsung
• ✪ Dacia
• ✪ Lada
• ✪ Infinity
• ✪Alpine
• ✪ Dongfeng
  

How many people knew that under the Samsung brand they produce not only smartphones and TVs, but also cars? Nevertheless, many of us met them on the roads - the first generation Renault Koleos crossover in its nee name was Samsung. In fact, he still wears it in his homeland.

Alliance plants are generously scattered throughout Europe, as well as in South Korea, Japan, China, Brazil, and India.

BMW Group

Almost a "mono-brand" association, in which BMW is the locomotive. In addition to the title brand, the group includes the brands MINI, Rolls-Royce and Alpina (not to be confused with Alpine, which is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance).

It is clear that the main production volumes fall on BMW cars - just over 2 million last year. MINI cars, which, in fact, received a new life under the wing of the Bavarians, are also sold quite well - almost a quarter of a million a year. Rolls-Royce, by virtue of its status and, as a result, exorbitant price tags, is lost in the general statistics of the concern. Alpina even produces cars based on the BMW model line, being, in fact, a “court” tuning studio.

The production of BMW cars has been established in many countries of Europe, America, Asia and Africa. They are also produced in Russia at the facilities of the Avtotor company in Kaliningrad. True, this is not a full-fledged plant owned by the BMW Group, but only an assembly site, albeit a very successful one.

Mercedes-Benz Group

At the beginning of this year, this transnational concern was named Daimler - the renaming happened just the other day. In addition to cars, the company produces a huge number of trucks under various brands. But for now we are only interested in cars.
And if we talk exclusively about passenger models, then these are almost exclusively variations on the Mercedes theme:

• ✪ Mercedes-Benz
• ✪ Mercedes AMG
• ✪ Mercedes-Maybach
  

In addition to the luxury brand, the concern produces Smart microcars in Europe, both in versions with a gasoline engine and with fully electric ones. But, being a very niche model, Smart cannot boast of any mass production - less than 50 thousand cars a year.

One could also recall the Chrysler brand, which was part of the Daimler AG group. But, firstly, now this brand has been safely sold and belongs to the Stellantis concern (as we talked about above), and secondly, this manufacturer is originally American and has little to do with Europe. Although, echoes of former cooperation with the Germans can still be observed in the Chrysler production range.
Like other big players, Mercedes assembles its cars all over the world, not just in Europe. The volume of production of passenger models last year amounted to more than 2 million cars.

Ford

Speaking of European manufacturers, one cannot but say about Ford. Yes, this concern is considered to be American, but the activities of the Ford of Europe division are notable for their noticeable independence. The company conducts independent development of models exclusively for the European market, which are very, and sometimes dramatically, different from the machines of the same name produced in America. For example, the first generation Focus, released in Europe, had significant differences from its American counterpart, both in technology and in execution. And under the name Fusion in Europe and the USA, generally different cars were produced.

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And here we come to a topic that scares many - the offensive from Asia. First of all, from China.

You can often hear the opinion that China will soon buy up everyone and everything. This is partly confirmed by practice. For example, the same Volvo company now belongs to the Chinese concern Geely. This is perhaps the most striking example of the Vikings from the Celestial Empire "biting off" a large European manufacturer with an annual production volume of over half a million cars. But, so far, it is the only one.

Someone will remember Land Rover and Jaguar, which also lost their European independence. But, firstly, they lost it a long time ago, when they were bought by Ford (by the way, like Volvo). And then it did not cause concern to anyone. Secondly, both of these companies, with all due respect, can hardly be called massive. With a total annual production of just over 300 thousand cars, they do not even get into the top 50 world manufacturers. And thirdly, the Chinese have nothing to do with it - they came from India for them. Now both of these brands belong to the Tata concern. As well as the Pininfarina bodywork studio, known to anyone who is at least a little interested in cars. But something I have never heard about the threat of an Indian invasion in connection with this.




There is no denying that there is a lot of money in Asia. And this money is actively penetrating all over the world. But I would not talk seriously about the "Chinese threat". Large European concerns are still too tough for the Chinese, and the Europeans themselves do not really need Asian help.

However, automotive production is a global story. And every year it gets more and more complicated. Who belongs to whom, to which country it belongs - the borders are now increasingly blurred. And, if people with narrow eyes ever appear among the major shareholders of VAG, there is nothing wrong with that. We are not like that - the world is like that.