The company then decided to rebuild and manufacture cars alone, dropping their sewing machine business. Opel officially debuted an automobile at the 1902 Hamburg Motor Show but did not shift its focus to only automobiles until their factory burned down a few years later. The company began making bicycles in 1886 and made its first car in 1899. More commonly known simply as Opel, this car company was founded Januas a sewing machine manufacturer. These two companies merged to form Mercedes-Benz in 1926, and the rest, as they say, is history.Īrea served: Africa, Asia, South America, Europe (except Great Britain) It began manufacturing industrial machines and gas engines before Benz decided to focus on his true passion – automobiles, or as he called them, “horseless carriages.” He made the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the world’s first gasoline-powered automobile, in 1886. Meanwhile, Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik, founded by Karl Benz, Max Rose, and Friedrich Wilhelm Eßlinger, was created in 1883. After the company saw success in small race cars, it shifted its focus producing Mercedes models. It was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1890 and started by producing petrol engines. This famous car brand technically wasn’t officially founded until 1926, but it is the result of a combination of two other automobile manufacturers that have been around for much longer.ĭaimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was one of these companies, its name roughly translating to Daimler Motors Corporation. The company also participates in motorsports and has backed and been behind several winning teams.
Renault has won six European Car of the Year awards, three Autobest Car of the Year awards, and several other national-level awards. They continued to manufacture cars throughout these periods. The company would shift its focus to building trucks, buses, and commercial cargo vehicles before the war, then military aircraft engines and ammunition during the first World War, and then agricultural and industrial machinery. Renault began to produce its own engines independently in 1903. In fact, a year earlier in 1898, Louis had already sold his first car to a family friend. Louis, an engineer, had designed prototypes prior to the company’s founding, and his brothers handled business while he focused on design. Today, they have won five Motor Trend Car of the Year awards.įounders: Louis Renault, Marcel Renault, Fernand Renaultįounded as Société Renault Frères, this company was launched by brothers Louis, Marcel, and Fernand Renault. The company was purchased by General Motors in 1909 but had already made a name for themselves in selling luxury vehicles by then.Ĭadillac was the first American car company to win the Royal Automobile Club of the United Kingdom’s Dewar Trophy in 1908 and did so again in 1912. They renamed themselves Cadillac in 1902. Murphy and Brown brought in Henry Leland to appraise the abandoned factory so it and its equipment could be put up for sale, but Leland convinced them to continue the manufacturing business. He left the company due to disagreements with financial backers Lemuel Bowen and William Murphy, taking his name with him. In 1901, Henry Ford founded the Henry Ford Company, which was his second attempt at creating an automobile manufacturer. LelandĪrea served: United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Middle East (except Iran), China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japanīelieve it or not, the Cadillac brand would likely not have come to be if not for Henry Ford, founder of the Ford car brand. Founders: William Murphy, Lemuel Bowen, Henry M.