Do you know the actual number of vehicle manufacturers that are operating in the world currently? There has been about 130 years of automotive history since the first true internal combustion engine was used to power a production vehicle way back in 1885.
 
In that time there are been some truly spectacular failures with many that have disappeared forever. Names like American Motors, Austin, DeSoto, Jensen, Hillman, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Jowett, Packard, Humber, Pontiac, Rambler, Saab, Studebaker, Morris and Rover to mention just a handful.
 
Many more have failed and the list would be too large to mention here but those that are left are working hard in so called “difficult times” to keep their customers satisfied as well as the governments around the world who create the rules on safety and omissions. To add to the competition a couple of new players with more cash than they know what to do with have signaled their intention to join in the fun. These guys come from a different background and so some time soon both Apple and Google will introduce us to their new idea in motoring.
 
Anyway lets look at who we have making the vehicles we see on our roads today and what they own.
 

Company		Country	Comments:
	BMW AG	German	Makes BMW, Mini & Rolls-Royce vehicles and is in the top ten holding on to tenth position for global vehicle manufacturers.
	Chrysler	American	Makes Chrysler vehicles and is partly owned by Fiat
	China FAW	Chinese	Makes FAW vehicles & is 100% government owned
	Daimler AG	German	Makes Mercedes Benz vehicles
	Fiat	Italian	Makes Fiat, Ferrari, Alfa Romero, Lancia & Maserati vehicles and sits just behind Ford in seventh position.
	Ford	American	Makes Ford vehicles & owns a small share of Mazda and currently sits in sixth position.
	Fuji Heavy	Japanese	Makes Subaru vehicles and a small share of Suzuki
	General Motors	American	Makes Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Opel, Vauxhall & Holden vehicles and currently is in second place just behind Toyota.
	Honda Motor	Japanese	Makes Honda vehicles and is owned by a number of shareholders and currently holds eighth position.
	Hyundai Motor	Korean	Makes Hyundai vehicles and owns a part of Kia Motors and has moved into the top five vehicle manufacturers in the world today.
	Mazda Motor	Japanese	Makes Mazda vehicles and does some joint ventures with Ford
	Mitsubishi Motor	Japanese	Makes Mitsubishi vehicles & does some joint ventures with Ford & Mazda
	Nissan Motor	Japanese	Makes Nissan vehicles and has a share of Renault & Daimler and ranks in fourth position currently.
	PSA Peugeot-Citroen	French	Makes Peugeot & Citroen vehicles and makes it into the top ten in ninth position.
	Renault	French	Makes Renault vehicles
	Shanghai Automotive	Chinese	Owns Daewoo & does joint ventures with GM & VW
	Suzuki Motor	Japanese	Makes Suzuki vehicles
	Toyota Motor	Japanese	Makes Toyota vehicles and owns 51% of Daihatsu and is the biggest vehicle manufacturer in the world today.
	Volkswagen AG	German	Makes VW, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, Seat & Skoda vehicles and is the third biggest vehicle manufacturer snapping at the heals of Toyota and GM.

February 2016