Who Owns What? Deal Between Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Creates World’s Fourth Biggest Carmaker

Trade unions in Britain have called for talks with the owners of Vauxhall after the company’s French parent company PSA agreed a deal to merge with Fiat Chrysler.

It brings together several big name car brands but the unions are worried it could mean job losses among the 3,000 Vauxhall workers.

PSA’ CEO Carlos Tavares has been credited with turning around Vauxhall and Opel, loss-making brands which PSA acquired from General Motors two years ago.

​In the 1990s there were dozens of car brands around  the world but there has been a lot of consolidation in the last 20 years. So who owns what brand?

Fiat Chrysler (FCA)

Chrysler was one of the three big auto manufacturers in the United States - along with Ford and General Motors - until it crashed in 2007.

It had merger with Daimler (owner of Mercedes) in 1998 but the “merger of equals” did not work out and it was sold to a private equity firm which eventually drove it into bankruptcy, which Barack Obama’s administration bailed it out of.

​In 2014 Fiat took over Chrysler for $4.35 billion and Fiat Chrysler now employs 199,000 workers globally - 60,000 of them in Italy, where its factories are said to be running at less than 60 percent capacity.

The company’s main brands are Fiat, which is based in Turin, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Abarth, Jeep and Dodge.

The firm also owns RAM, who make pick-up trucks in the US, and luxury custom-built car makers Mopar and SRT.

Peugeot (PSA)

France had three major car companies for many years - Renault, Peugeot and Citroen - but the latter ran into difficulties in the early 1970s and was taken over by Peugeot, with the help of the French government, in 1975.

As well as the Peugeot and Citroen brands, PSA also owns UK-based Vauxhall and Opel, from Germany, which they purchased from General Motors.

​In 2009 PSA also launched a new luxury brand called DS - pronounced déesse (the French for goddess) - which takes its name from Citroen’s famous DS model, which was the go-to car for French presidents and VIPs between 1955 and 1975.

Toyota

Toyota is the world’s biggest car manufacturer and produced more than 20 million vehicles in 2017.

The Japanese company was founded in the 1930s and, after the Second World War, was a key part of the economic miracle which helped Japan bounce back from military defeat and dominate Asia economically.

​Toyota's biggest markets are India, Indonesia, Thailand, Europe and the United States.

Toyota bought Daihatsu in 2016 and its other brands are Lexus - for luxury cars - and Hino, which makes vans and trucks for the Asian market.

Ford

Founded by Henry Ford in 1903 and still based in Michigan, Ford remains one of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers.

After years of expansionism and lack of investment in forward-thinking vehicles, Ford hit the buffers in 2008 and had to be bailed out by the US government.

​That same year is sold its UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors.

It also owns the Lincoln brand in the US and Troller, a Brazilian SUV manufacturer.

Last year Ford bought the iconic former Michigan Central station in Detroit, which will be turned into an "innovation hub".

Volkswagen
The Gesellschaft Zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens began producing cars in 1937, under the Nazis.

The company's factories were destroyed in the Second World War but VW bounced back after the war and, after being privatised in 1960, it went from strength to strength, with one of its biggest sellers globally being the famous Beetle.

​In 1965 VW bought Audi from Daimler-Benz.

Nowadays VW also owns Skoda, Porsche, Bentley, Seat and Lamborghini brands.

Hyundai
Hyundai was founded in South Korea in 1967 and the conglomerate is involved in shipbuilding and other manufacturing, as well as cars.

Hyundai owns factories in Russia, China, India, Turkey, the Czech Republic and the United States, as well as Korea.

​It also owns the Kia brand and Genesis, a luxury car maker which specialises in the Asian market.

General Motors
In 1916 the US car manufacturer Buick renamed itself General Motors and was the leading car maker by 1929.

General Motors sold off Vauxhall and Opel in 2017 and today its main brands are Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac.

It also holds a significant stake in the Australian auto firm Holden as well as Chinese brands Wuling and Jiefang.

Nissan

Nissan was founded in 1911, although it only came to be known by that name in the 1930s.

In the 1950s and 60s the company began to focus on exporting cars and by the 1970s its Datsun brand had carved out a significant market share in the UK.

​In 1986 Nissan built a factory in Sunderland in the north of England and it has since built plants in Brazil, China and all over the world.

Since 1999 it has been in a strategic partnership with Renault and Mitsubishi and it has a 15 percent stake in Renault, which also owns shares in Nissan.

Renault

Based in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, Renault is one of the biggest car and truck manufacturers in Europe.

In 1999 it bought the Romanian auto maker Dacia and it also has a majority shareholding in the Russian firm AvtoVAZ, which produces the Lada brand.