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67 Popular Car Brands, Their Emblems & The Countries Where They Are Produced
A car’s emblem or logo is a very important component of an automaker’s brand identity. In fact, the logos or emblems, which are stuck or branded on the car badge, are used to identify cars from a particular manufacturer.
There are countless car brands around the world, each one with its own story. Some of the car histories are represented in the brand identity which is often in the form of the car emblems and logos.
In this article, Autojosh.com presents a comprehensive compilation of globally-renowned automakers, their brand identity – car emblems and/or logos, their country of production, and some important information about them. In this list, you will find the most popular automakers, other active auto manufacturers and the non-active auto brands by each country.
67 Car Brands, Their Emblems & Countries Where They Are Produced
China
Chery
Brand: Chery
Manufacturer: Chery Automobile Co.
Country of Production: China
Headquarter: Wuhu, Anhui, China.
Founded: 1997.
Important Note: The company was founded by the government of China in 1997. Chery began the production of automobiles in 1999, and began their export from China in 2001. Chery is the 10th-largest China-based automaker measured by 2012 output (around 590,000 units produced).
Geely
Brand: Geely
Manufacturer: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd
Country of Production: China
Headquarter: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China
Founded: 1986 (automotive division began in 1997).
Important Note: It is a privately held car manufacturing company. Geely Group has been manufacturing its own cars before it acquired the Swedish carmaker Volvo Cars in 2010. Geely acquired Volvo from Ford.
Czech Republic
Skoda
Brand: Skoda
Manufacturer: Skoda Auto of the Czech Republic
Country of Production: Czech Republic (also China, Russia, India and Slovakia).
Headquarter: Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic.
Founded: 1948.
Important Note: The company became state-owned in 1948. After 1991, it was gradually privatized. In 2000, Škoda became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. As of August 2016, Škoda was being sold in 102 countries.
France
Bugatti
Brand: Bugatti
Manufacturer: Bugatti Automobiles SAS (a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG)
Country of Production: France.
Headquarter: Molsheim, Alsace, France.
Founded: 1909 (purchased by Volkswagen in 1998)
Important Note: Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti trademark in June 1998 and incorporated Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. in 1999. Bugatti presented several concept cars between 1998 and 2000 before commencing development of its first production model, the Veyron 16.4, delivering the first Veyron to a customer in 2005.
Citroën
Brand: Citroen
Manufacturer: PSA Peugeot Citroën group
Country of Production: France.
Headquarter: Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine in France
Founded: 1919
Important Note: Citroen has been part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group since 1976. In 2014, when PSA Peugeot Citroën ran into severe financial difficulties, then the Dongfeng Motor Corporation of China took an ownership stake. Some of its models include Berlingo, Relay, and Dispatch.
Peugeot
Brand: Peugeot
Manufacturer: PSA Peugeot Citroën group
Country of Production: France.
Headquarter: Sochaux, France. (with manufacturing plants in different countries around the world including Nigeria).
Founded: 1889 (the year the first Peugeot car was built).
Important Note: Peugeot brand started as a family business before veering into the production of automobiles. Today, Peugeot is owned by a joint parent company that became the PSA (Peugeot Société Anonyme) group. The group also controls the Citroen car brand. Peugeot thus briefly controlled the Italian Maserati marque but disposed of it in May 1975.
Renault
Brand: Renault
Manufacturer: Groupe Renault
Country of Production: France.
Headquarter: Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, France.
Founded: 1898.
Important note: In 2016, Renault was the ninth biggest automaker in the world by production volume. By 2017, the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance had become the world’s biggest seller of light vehicles, bumping Volkswagen AG off the top spot.
Some more Car Emblems Explained
Germany
Audi
Brand: Audi
Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group.
Country of Production: Germany
Headquarter: Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany
Founded: 1899.
Important note: Audi AG is a member of the Volkswagen Group. Audi-branded vehicles are produced in nine production facilities worldwide, some of which are shared with other VW Group marques. Audi has one of the most interesting car emblems. The four silver rings symbolize the 1932 merger of the four oldest car manufacturers in Germany: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. These four companies formed what is known as the Auto Union, and initially, only Auto Union-specific cars bore the four-ringed badge, while the individual carmakers used their own logos.
BMW
Brand: BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG)
Manufacturer: BMW Group
Country of Production: Germany (with production facilities in Germany, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Mexico)
Headquarter: Munich
Founded: 1916.
Important note: BMW Group is the parent company of the luxury Rolls-Royce brand. In 2015, BMW was the world’s twelfth largest producer of motor vehicles, with 2,279,503 vehicles produced. The car emblems is interpreted to signify a propeller against a blue sky, representing BMW’s early history of making airplane engines.
Mercedes-Benz
Brand: Mercedes Benz
Manufacturer: Daimler AG.
Country of Production: Germany
Headquarter: Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Founded: 1926
Important note: In 2018, Mercedes-Benz was the biggest selling premium vehicle brand in the world, having sold 2.31 million passenger cars.
Opel
Brand: Opel
Manufacturer: Opel Automobile GmbH (a subsidiary of French automaker Groupe PSA)
Country of Production: Germany (operates 10 production plants and 4 development and test centers in six countries).
Headquarter: Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Founded: 1862 (made its first car in 1899)
Important note: Opel vehicles are sold in the United Kingdom under the Vauxhall brand. Some Opel vehicles are badge-engineered in Australia under the Holden brand, and in North America and China under the Buick, Saturn, and Cadillac brands.
Porsche
Brand: Porsche
Manufacturer: Porsche AG (a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG)
Country of Production: Germany (operates 10 production plants and 4 development and test centers in six countries).
Headquarter: Stuttgart, Germany
Founded: 1931
Important note: Porsche has a line up of models that include 718 Boxster/Cayman, 911, Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan.
Volkswagen
Brand: Volkswagen
Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group or “AG”
Country of Production: Germany
Headquarter: Wolfsburg, Germany
Founded: 1937
Important note: The maker of Volkswagen vehicle brands, Volkswagen Group, is the largest automaker by worldwide sales in 2016 and 2017. The group’s biggest market is in China, which delivers 40% of its sales and profits. Volkswagen translates to “people’s car” in German.
Ghana
Kantanka cars
Brand: Kantanka
Manufacturer: Kantanka Automobile Company Limited.
Country of Production: Ghana
Headquarter: Central Ghana, Ghana
Founded: 2001.
Important note: Kantanka vehicles are assembled in Ghana from CKD (Complete Knock Down) kits supplied by a Chinese firm, possible Foday through Chongqing Big Science & Technology. The company said it makes 150 cars every month from its headquarters in central Ghana.
India
Mahindra
Brand: Mahindra
Manufacturer: Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Country of Production: India
Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Founded: 2001
Important note: Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers by production in India and the largest manufacturer of tractors in the world. Its major competitors in the Indian market include Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.
Tata Motors Limited
Brand: Tata
Manufacturer: Tata Motors Limited
Country of Production: India
Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Founded: 1945
Important note: Tata Motors has vehicle assembly operations in India, Great Britain, South Korea, Thailand, Spain, and South Africa. It plans to establish plants in Turkey, Indonesia, and Eastern Europe.
Maruti Suzuki
Brand: Maruti Suzuki
Manufacturer: Maruti Suzuki India Limited
Country of Production: India
Headquarter: New Delhi, India.
Founded: 1981
Important note: As of July 2018, it had a market share of 53% of the Indian passenger car market. In May 2015, the company produced its fifteen millionth vehicle in India, a Swift Dzire. Maruti Suzuki manufactures and sells popular cars such as the Ciaz, Ertiga, Wagon R, Alto K10 and Alto 800, Swift, Celerio, Swift Dzire, Baleno and Baleno RS, Omni, baleno, Eeco, Ignis, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza.
Italy
Alfa Romeo
Brand: Alfa Romeo
Manufacturer: Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A.
Country of Production: Italy
Headquarter: Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Founded: 1910
Important note: The brand is known for sporty vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911. Some popular cars produced by Alfa Romeo include the Giulietta, 4C, Giulia, Stelvio. The Alfa Romeo is one of those whose car emblems has a story behind it.
Ferrari
Brand: Ferrari
Manufacturer: Scuderia Ferrari S.p.A. Ferrari
Country of Production: Italy
Headquarter: Maranello, Italy
Founded: 1939
Important note: The first Ferrari car was built in 1940. However, the company’s inception as an auto manufacturer is usually recognized in 1947, when the first Ferrari-badged car was completed. As of the end of 2018, the total number of Ferraris built and in the company’s history is 208,931. The horse was adopted and a yellow background was used to represent the town of Modena, the Ferrari factory’s location. But the car emblems could not be used for the cars, initially — it was seen only on Ferrari’s publications and papers since Alfa Romeo technically owned the cars. The shield emblem debuted in July of 1932 at the Spa 24 Hours, and in 1963, Ferrari also began to utilize a relief version of the Prancing Horse, which you still see today.
Fiat Automobiles
Brand: Fiat
Manufacturer: Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (FIAT) , a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A (previously Fiat S.p.A.). which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Country of Production: Italy (With production plants in Brazil, Argentina, Poland, Mexico)
Headquarter: Turin, Italy
Founded: 1899
Important note: Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. During its more than a century-long history, it remained the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the third in the world after General Motors and Ford for over 20 years.
Lancia
Brand: Lancia
Manufacturer: Lancia automobiles.
Country of Production: Italy
Headquarter: Turin, Italy
Founded: 1906
Important note: The manufacturing company was founded in 1906. It became part of the Fiat Group in 1969; the current company, Lancia Automobiles, was established in 2007. Lancia vehicles are no longer sold outside Italy and comprise only the Ypsilon supermini range. As at 2017, over 60, 620 Lancia cars have been produced and sold.
Lamborghini
Brand: Lamborghini
Manufacturer: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (owned by Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary, Audi.)
Country of Production: Italy
Headquarter: Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy
Founded: 1963
Important note: By sales, the most important markets As of 2004, the most important markets for Lamborghini’s sports cars were the U.S. (41%), Germany (13%), Great Britain (9%) and Japan (8%). Prior to the launch of the Gallardo in 2003, Lamborghini produced approximately 400 vehicles per year; in 2011 Lamborghini produced 1,711 vehicles. Lamborghini currently produces the V12-powered Aventador, the V10-powered Huracán along with the Urus SUV powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine.
Maserati
Brand: Maserati
Manufacturer: Maserati (owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
Country of Production: Italy
Headquarter: Modena, Italy
Founded: 1993
Important note: Maserati produces cars such as Ghibli, Quattroporte, GranTurismo, GranTurismo Convertible, Levante (the first-ever Maserati SUV). Maserati’s tagline is “Luxury, sports and style cast in exclusive cars”,
Pagani
Brand: Pagani
Manufacturer: Pagani Automobili S.p.A.
Country of Production: Italy
Headquarter: San Cesario Sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy
Founded: 1992
Important note: Pagani Automobili S.p.A. was founded by Horacio Pagani, who formerly managed Lamborghini’s composites department in 1988. In the late 1980s, Pagani began designing his own car, then referred to as the “C8 Project”.
Zonda R, Zonda Cinque, Pagani Huayra, Huayra Roadster, etc are some of the cars manufactured under the Pagani brand.
Japan
Acura
Brand: Acura
Manufacturer: Honda
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded: 1986
Important note: Acura is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Honda. In the late 1980s, the success of the company’s first flagship vehicle, the Legend, inspired fellow Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan to launch their own luxury brands, Lexus and Infiniti, respectively. In the early 2000s, Acura started the manufacture of its SUVs – the MDX, RSX, TSX, Type-S versions of the RSX, CL, and TL, etc. In the 2010s, Acura debuted the ILX, TLX, and RLX, NSX.
Datsun (Owned by NISSAN)
Brand: Datsun
Manufacturer: Nissan
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Tokyo, Japan
Founded: 1931
Important note: Datsun’s original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. By 1986 Nissan had phased out the Datsun name but re-launched it in June 2013 as the brand for low-cost vehicles manufactured for emerging markets.
Isuzu Motors Ltd
Brand: Isuzu
Manufacturer: Isuzu Motors Ltd
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
Founded: 1878
Important note: The name Isuzu translates into English as “fifty bells”.By 2009, Isuzu had produced over 21 million diesel engines, which can be found in vehicles all over the world. Isuzu diesel engines are used by dozens of vehicle manufacturers, including General Motors.
Infiniti
Brand: Infiniti
Manufacturer: Nissan
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Hopewell Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Founded: 1989
Important note: Infiniti is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker, Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989, in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti-branded vehicles includes dealers in over 50 countries.
Honda
Brand: Honda
Manufacturer: Honda Motor Company Ltd.
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded: 1946
Important note: Honda Motor Company Ltd. was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Also in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net exporter from the United States, exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models, while importing only 88,357.
Lexus
Brand: Lexus
Manufacturer: Toyota
Country of Production: Japan (Operational centres are located in Brussels, Belgium, and the U.S. in Plano, Texas).
Headquarter: Nagoya, Japan
Founded: 1989
Important note: The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 70 countries and territories worldwide and has become Japan’s largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese global brands in market value.
Mazda
Brand: Mazda
Manufacturer: Mazda Motor Corporation
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Founded: 1920
Important note: In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly 1 million) were produced in the company’s Japanese plants, with the remainder coming from a variety of other plants worldwide. In 2015, Mazda was the fifteenth biggest automaker by production worldwide.
Mitsubishi
Brand: Mitsubishi
Manufacturer: Mazda Motor Corporation
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded: 1970
Important note: One-third (34%) of Mitsubishi is owned by Nissan, and thus it is a part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance. In 2011, Mitsubishi Motors was the sixth-biggest Japanese automaker and the nineteenth-biggest worldwide by production.
Subaru
Brand: Subaru
Manufacturer: Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries).
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Founded: 1953
Important note: Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries) was the twenty-second largest automaker by production worldwide in 2012. Subaru cars are known for their use of a boxer engine layout in most vehicles above 1500 cc.
Nissan
Brand: Nissan
Manufacturer: Nissan Motor Co.
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Nishi-ku, Yokohama
Founded: 1953
Important note: The Nissan Motor Co. sells its cars under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands with in-house performance tuning products labelled Nismo.
Toyota
Brand: Toyota
Manufacturer: Toyota Motor Corporation
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Toyota City, Aichi, Japan.
Founded: 1937
Important note: As of 2017, Toyota is the largest automotive manufacturer in the world. As of September 2018, Toyota was the sixth-largest company in the world by revenue. Toyota was the world’s first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year which it has done since 2012 when it also reported the production of its 200-millionth vehicle.
Suzuki
Brand: Suzuki
Manufacturer: Suzuki Motor Corporation
Country of Production: Japan
Headquarter: Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
Founded: 1909
Important note: In 2016, Suzuki was the eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has 35 production facilities in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world’s tenth-largest, while domestic sales volume is the third-largest in the country.
Kenya
Mobius
Brand: Mobius
Manufacturer: Mobius Motors Kenya Ltd.
Country of Production: Kenya
Headquarter: Kenya
Founded: 2010
Important note: Mobius Motors is the only automobile company in Kenya and one of the two automobile companies in the East African region. Mobius uses simplified design concepts to produce efficient and cheap vehicles that can compete with second-hand vehicles that dominate the East African automotive market.
More Car Brands, Car Emblems
Malaysia
Proton
Brand: Proton
Manufacturer: PROTON Holdings Berhad
Country of Production: Malaysia
Headquarter: Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Founded: 1983
Important note: Proton was originally a manufacturer of rebadged Mitsubishi Motors (MMC) products in the 1980s and 1990s. Proton produced it’s first indigenously designed (though Mitsubishi-engined), non-badge engineered car in the year 2000 and elevated Malaysia as the 11th country in the world with the capability to design cars from the ground up. Since the 2000s, Proton has produced a mix of locally engineered and badge-engineered vehicles. Proton cars are currently sold in at least 15 countries, the majority of which are in Asia.
Nigeria
IVM
Brand: IVM (Innoson)
Manufacturer: Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd.,
Country of Production: Nigeria
Headquarter: Nnewi, Anambra
Founded: 2007
Important note: According to Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM) 70% of the IVM vehicle parts are produced locally, while the rest is sourced from Japan, China, and Germany. Innoson vehicles are being used in some West African countries like Mali, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
Romania
Dacia
Brand: Dacia
Manufacturer: Automobile Dacia S.A. (a subsidiary of the French car manufacturer Renault since 1999)
Country of Production: Romania
Headquarter: Mioveni, Arges, Romania
Founded: 1966
Important note: The company takes its name from the historic region that constitutes present-day Romania. It is Romania’s top company by revenue and the largest exporter, constituting 8% of the country’s total exports in 2018.
Russia
Lada
Brand: Lada
