Volkswagen is now simply a brand collector. The others had been rather uncomplicated, but they were going to compete with BMW, a similarly large German automaker.
Vickers, the company that owns Bentley, stated in 1997 that it would be selling Rolls-Royce Motors. Because BMW provided engines and other components for both Bentley and Rolls-Royce, it made sense for a consumer to choose them. Additionally, BMW and Vickers produced airplane engines. Volkswagen outbid BMW when they offered PS430m, beating over their PS340m bid. However, this did not imply that Volkswagen was the sole owner. Instead, they just purchased the Rolls-Royce grille form and Spirit of Ecstasy trademarks, together with the production and administrative facilities, model names, and vehicle designs. They were denied the right to use the Rolls-Royce name or logo. In charge of them was Rolls-Royce Holdings.
BMW began providing parts for a new line of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles in 1998. To license the Rolls-Royce name and logo, BMW paid Rolls-Royce PS40 million.
After a protracted legal battle and negotiation process, it was decided that Volkswagen would have access to the names and emblems from 1998 to 2002 while BMW would continue to provide engines and other parts.
Beginning on January 1, 2003, Volkswagen would be the only manufacturer of vehicles bearing the Bentley and BMW/Rolls-Royce brands.
Volkswagen upgraded the Bentley Crewe facility with PS500 million to boost output. Volkswagen reportedly contributed close to $2 billion to Bentley’s resurgence.
To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, Bentley gave her an official State Limousine.
In This Article...
There are numerous others, however some, like Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche, are obvious.
Volkswagen AG is a global automotive behemoth with extensive global influence. The German car manufacturer offers a wide range of brands, some of which are well-known and others which are less well-known. It might be difficult for many readers to name them all.
Naturally, many of them have German roots, starting with the well-known Volkswagen brand, which is marketed in vast quantities all over the world, as well as the upscale Audi brand and the legendary Porsche. However, Volkswagen has owned the Czech brand Skoda since 2000 and the Spanish brand SEAT since 1990. In 1998, the business added the then-dormant French brand Bugatti to its portfolio, together with the British brand Bentley and the Italian brand Lamborghini.
Volkswagen experimented with its own sub-brand, JETTA, in 2019, but only in China. JETTA had its own dealer network.
The Volkswagen Group’s main office is in Wolfsburg, Germany, however many of its brands have regional offices that report back to the parent company. Volkswagen Group is most known for producing passenger cars, but it also owns Ducati motorbikes, which are owned by Audi through Lamborghini, and the heavy truck brands MAN and Scania. Scania was formerly a part of the corporation that also produced Saab cars.
Here is a list of the automakers currently included in the Volkswagen Group.
BMW’s two problems
If you believed that the Mini Cooper was initially a symbol of Britain, you should know that BMW, a German luxury automaker, owns and manufactures Mini automobiles. Following a deal with Volkswagen Group, who now have custody of Bentley, BMW is now the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, another British luxury car brand that attracts attention everywhere it travels.
In 1917, the engine manufacturer Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name to Bayerische Motoren Werke, and in 1922 it amalgamated with the aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke. It initially began selling aviation engines before extending its manufacture to include motorcycles and cars in the future.
In relation to the Volkswagen group, numerous well-known automobile brands are owned by this German automotive behemoth. Volkswagen currently owns all of Audi, Scania, and Porsche, as well as Skoda Auto, Lamborghini, and Ducati in its entirety. The Volkswagen Group obviously makes great decisions when selecting its auto brands because they can claim to hold some of the best and most recognizable auto brands in the world.
In order to mobilize its populace for the future, the brand needed to have a car for the masses. Only a few of the models were produced before the start of World War II, at which point the factory shifted its focus to producing military vehicles.
Following the war, production of the company’s iconic Beetle began to pick up again, eventually reaching a total of over 21 million. Volkswagen’s corporate headquarters are in Wolfsburg, Germany. These assets are within the corporation’s control:
- Volkswagen
- Bentley
- Audi
- Bugatti
- Porsche
- SEAT
- Lamborghini
- Skoda
- MAN
- Scania
- Ducati
A Guide to Automobile Companies
The major automakers with current presences in the United States are listed below, along with the brands they sell.
BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce are all owned by BMW Group. Smart and Mercedes-Benz are owned by Daimler AG. Lincoln and Ford are owned by Ford Motor Co. Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac all belong to General Motors. Hummer is back as a GMC subsidiary brand. In order to co-develop EVs, GM and Honda have an official collaboration. Acura and Honda are owned by Honda Motor Co. It collaborates with GM. Sony Honda Mobility is the name of the electric vehicle firm they founded with Sony. Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia are all owned by Hyundai Motor Group. Mazda is owned by Mazda Motor Corp. Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Infiniti are all owned by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Following the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A., a new company called Stellantis was created. According to the explanation, the word is derived from the Latin verb “stello,” which means “to dazzle with stars.” Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram are now under Stellantis and are FCA brands that are offered in the United States. Other Stellantis automobile brands include Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall. Subaru is owned by Subaru Corp. Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by Tata Motors. Owned by Tesla. Lexus and Toyota are owned by Toyota Motor Corp. Additionally, it owns stock in Suzuki and Subaru. The automotive brand VinFast, along with VinHomes, VinBigData, VinBioCare, and VinBrain, are all owned by VinGroup. Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scout, and Volkswagen are all brands owned by Volkswagen AG. Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus are all brands owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH).
Group
The Group consists of ten brands from five different European nations: Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche, and Ducati. Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, A KODA, SEAT, and CUPRA are also included. The Volkswagen Group also has a large number of additional brands and business divisions, including financial services. Volkswagen Financial Services includes leasing, leasing for customers and dealers, banking, insurance, and fleet management services.
The Volkswagen Group is laying the groundwork for the biggest reform process in its history with its aNEW AUTO – Mobility for Generations to Comea Group strategy and future program: the realignment of one of the best automakers to become a leading provider of sustainable mobility on a global scale. To do so, the Group will change its core automotive business, which will include, among other things, the introduction of another 30 or more fully electric vehicles by 2025 and the expansion of battery technology and autonomous driving as new key businesses.
Here are some of the most notable companies that own ultra-luxury and performance carmakers, including Lamborghini, Volkswagen, Rolls-Royce, and BMW.
- Several of the priciest, most opulent, and most powerful supercars on the market today are produced by subsidiaries of much larger corporations.
- For instance, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Bugatti are all owned by the Volkswagen Group.
- However, only a small number of supercar brands don’t have larger automotive parent corporations.
One might assume there are dozens upon dozens of automobile manufacturers fighting for our business based on the sheer number of various marques on the road.
However, despite their high prices and illustrious names, even the most upscale manufacturers of ultra-luxury and supercars sell the majority of their products through a small number of enormous corporations.
In reality, General Motors is where your car actually originates, whether you purchase it from Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, or Buick. Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Jeeps, and Dodges are all included in the considerably wider category of Fiat Chrysler. Contrary to popular belief, this also applies to the most opulent, costly, and potent cars money can purchase.
Continue reading to find out which bigger firms are the real owners of independent names like Bentley, Bugatti, and Rolls-Royce.
BMW owns Volkswagen, right?
Bentley is a brand of Bentley Motors, a British luxury car manufacturer that is a member of the Volkswagen Group in Germany. Since 1998, Bentley has been a part of VW, with its headquarters in Crewe, United Kingdom.
Walter Owen Bentley and his brother Horace Miller Bentley established Bentley in 1909. In 1931, during the Great Depression, the car manufacturer entered receivership and was bought by British Central Equitable Trust, which eventually turned out to be a front for Rolls-Royce.
In order to isolate the production of Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles from the vitally important Rolls-Royce aerospace sector, the British government nationalized Rolls-Royce in 1971 after which Rolls-Royce Motors was established in 1973. Vickers, a multinational engineering company, acquired Rolls-Royce Motors in 1980.
Vickers chose to sell in 1997. Volkswagen AG significantly outbid BMW, with the transaction concluding in 1998. Ferdinand Piech, the head of Volkswagen, believed he had acquired all of the assets of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, but the fine print showed that Rolls-Royce plc, the aerospace company, actually owned the Rolls-Royce brand and mark and had only licensed it to the automotive business. Even worse, it then opted to transfer the license to BMW, its business partner in the production of commercial aircraft engines.
Given that BMW provided the engines for the Rolls-Royce Seraph and Bentley Arnage, Volkswagen had little leverage. Volkswagen produced Rolls-Royce vehicles for BMW between 1998 and 2003, when the company had finished developing the brand-new Phantom.
The Bentley Bentayga, its first SUV, the Continental GT, and the Flying Spur are some of its most recent models. Bentley employs certain VW plants across Europe in addition to Crewe, where it assembles the majority of its vehicles.
What does BMW mean?
Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH is known as BMW. In 1917, the Munich company Rapp-Motorenwerke was transformed into BMW. Before being refounded as BMW AG in 1922, the firm was incorporated as Knorr-Bremse AG in 1920. It was the successor to the 1916-founded Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG.
Audi – just another Volkswagen?
Yes. The bigger Volkswagen Group, with its headquarters in Germany’s Bavaria, includes Audi. Other car brands owned by the Volkswagen Group include Bugatti, Porsche, Bentley, Lamborghini, and others.
BMW is still produced in Germany?
So, where are BMW’s factories and is BMW foreign? The answer to the query “Where is BMW made?” is not singular. BMW factories can currently be found in Germany, China, South Africa, Mexico, and the U.S., where parts and vehicles for this German brand are produced and put together.
A BMW or a Toyota Supra?
By this point, everyone is pretty much in agreement that the new Toyota Supra is really a BMW Z4 dressed up in very chic Japanese garb. Some enthusiasts despise such fact, believing that BMW killed the Supra. Others are awed by its performance and realize that BMW’s assistance was essential to its creation. Could BMW, however, have made the Supra any better than it already was? Is thinking about such things even blasphemous? Top Gear’s newest video aims to answer that question.
In this new video, Becky Evans of Top Gear compares the A90 Toyota Supra, often known as the “Zupra,” to the venerable A80 “Mk4” Toyota Supra. The latter was always adored among Supra enthusiasts, but the Fast and Furious movie series helped it become legendary. Is it really as renown as many claim, or has everyone’s perception been tainted by nostalgia? Evans tests both vehicles side-by-side on Top Gear’s test track to find out before giving them to The Stig to record lap times.
The automobiles scarcely resemble one another underneath, however they do have a similar engine type. Both cars use 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six engines, despite having a 20-year gap between them and being produced by separate firms. Naturally, the newer A80 uses a BMW B58 engine, which is likewise very adjustable and amazing in its own right, while the older A80 employs a Toyota 2JZ engine, the venerable, incredibly customizable straight-six.
In this video, the older Supra’s engine is tweaked and produces a very healthy 520 horsepower, which is far higher than the 374 horsepower of the BMW-Supra (382 horsepower in North America). But unlike the outdated four-speed auto featured in the earlier Supra, the new Supra has an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, which is far better. Let’s face it, despite having less power, the new Supra was undoubtedly faster on the track. It was far more capable due to its better grip and speedier gearbox. But the real query is, which would you like to own?