The other great marques of Europe.
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. was founded on June 24, 1910 in Milan, Italy. It has been a part of the Fiat Group (Fiat S.p.A.) since 1986.
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars founded in 1913 and based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire.
Founded in the 1920s, Bentley builds powerful and very expensive automobiles. The British company was purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931. In 1998 Bentley was purchased by VW AG. Bentley makes some of the most exclusive automobiles in the world.
Italian born Ettore Bugatti produced his first car in 1899 at the age of 19. In 1909 he started his factory in Molsheim, Alsace. Bugattis were known for their advanced engineering in their premium road cars. The company's success culminated with driver Jean-Pierre Wimille winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice (in 1937 with Robert Benoist and 1939 with Pierre Veyron). Volkswagen AG purchased the rights to produce cars under the Bugatti marque in 1998.
Founded in 1919 by André Citroën, it was the world's first mass-production car company outside of the USA. Since 1976 it has been part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, and is based in Paris, France.
Ferrari S.p.A. is based in Maranello, Italy. It was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari. The company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has enjoyed great success. It is currently owned by Fiat S.p.A.
Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Fiat) was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. As of 2009, Fiat is the world's 6th largest carmaker as well as Italy's largest carmaker.
Jaguar Cars Ltd., better known as Jaguar is headquartered in Coventry, England. The company was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company by Sir William Lyons in 1922, originally making motorcycle sidecars before switching to passenger cars. It has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors Ltd. since March 2008 and is operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business.
Koenigsegg Automotive AB is a manufacturer of high-performance sports cars based in Ängelholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1994 by Christian von Koenigsegg, with the intention of producing a world-class supercar. Many years of diligent development and prototyping led to the first street-legal production car delivery in 2002 to an awaiting customer.
Land Rover originally referred to one specific vehicle from the Rover Company's product range, launched in 1948, and inspired by the American Jeep. The first LR prototype was built on a Jeep chassis. The company, based in Solihull, West Midlands, England, is now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business owned by Tata Motors of India.
Ferruccio Lamborghini was a tractor manufacturer who built his first cars as a hobby. In 1961, Lamborghini founded his own company and set up a car factory in Bologna, Italy. Volkswagen AG currently owns 100% of Lamborghini.
Founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman, Lotus Cars is based in Hethel, Norfolk, England. It is currently owned by Proton, the Malaysian carmaker, who took Lotus over in 1994 on the bankruptcy of its former owner Bugatti.
With its headquarters in Modena, Italy, Maserati was founded in 1914 in Bologna by the Maserati brothers. Since 1993, Maserati is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A.
Rebirth of a brand with direct ties to the first Mercedes branded Daimler (1901) designed by Wilhelm Maybach. His son, Karl Maybach, started Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH using a Mercedes chassis in 1919
McLaren Automotive, commonly known as McLaren, is a British automotive manufacturer of high performance vehicles based in Woking, England. The company was established as McLaren Cars in 1989 as a producer of road cars based on Formula One technology. It works closely with McLaren Racing, the successful Formula One constructor, and is a spinoff of the McLaren Group.
BMW owned since 1994.
Adam Opel GmbH is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1863. It has been a subsidiary of General Motors Company since 1929. Opel started out making sewing machines in 1862 and bicycles in 1886. They have been making cars since 1899.
Pagani Automobili S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of sports cars and carbon fibre. The company was founded in 1992 by Horacio Pagani, and is based in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy.
Peugeot's roots go back to 19th-century coffee mill and bicycle manufacturing. The Peugeot company is originally from Sochaux, France. Founded in 1882, Peugeot is part of PSA Peugeot Citroën.
Producing cars since late 1897, the Renault corporation was founded in 1899 as Société Renault Frères by Louis Renault, his brothers Marcel and Fernand, and his friends Thomas Evert and Julian Wyer. Renault S.A. is headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
Charles Rolls and Henry Royce formally established Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. in 1906. In 1998 Volkswagen AG purchased Rolls-Royce; however, BMW purchased the rights to the Rolls-Royce name. Rolls-Royce models are now built and sold separately from Bentleys.
Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish car manufacturer currently owned by Spyker Cars NV. The company was founded in 1947 as a division of the Swedish Aeroplane Company (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget). Later known as Saab AB, Saab Automobile was acquired by General Motors in 1990 who sold it to Spyker Cars in 2010.
Although the cars are made in Spain, German carmaker Volkswagen is in the SEAT of power. A subsidiary of Germany's Volkswagen AG, SEAT (Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo) SA sells more than 400,000 passenger cars per year.
If you don't live in Europe chances are you won't be buying a SKODA. Once the Czech Republic's state carmaker, SKODA AUTO a.s. is now a subsidiary of Volkswagen.
Spyker Cars N.V. is a Dutch hand-built automobile manufacturer founded in 1999 and the owner of Saab. The company is not related to or controlled by the previous Spyker company that went bankrupt in 1929. The modern Spyker Cars only has the legal right to the brand name. The company's motto is "Nulla tenaci invia est via", which is Latin for "For the tenacious, no road is impassable".
Volvo Cars, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and currently owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo Cars was owned by AB Volvo until 1999, when it was acquired by the Ford Motor Company as part of its Premier Automotive Group. Geely Holding Group then acquired Volvo from Ford in 2010.
Wiesmann was founded in 1985 by Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann. The cars are manufactured by hand in Dülmen, Germany. The Wiesmann logo portrays a gecko, as Wiesmann cars "stick to the road like geckos to a wall".
